


Enchantment of Sorrow

by moonofmorrigan



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Beauty and the Beast Theme, Dark Magic, Dark Thranduil, F/M, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Madness, Oral Sex, Rough Body Play, Rough Sex, Sex, Thranduil - Freeform, Thranduil as a Faerie, Vaginal Sex, snow white theme
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-02-17 09:15:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13073799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonofmorrigan/pseuds/moonofmorrigan
Summary: Modern AU: Cold and lost in a dark, unfamiliar wood during a snow storm you are led by a white stag to an unknown path. The path takes you to the doors of a vast kingdom, but it is run by an elf-king who has gone mad. Can you soothe his soul of the shadows that haunt him? If so, at what cost to yourself?





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Privately, I went on a rant about personal my views on Thranduil. Tolkien would probably not approve of it being included in his legends, but maybe approve of my standpoint. (No, I won’t release it publicly.) If you read this, you will understand what they are somewhat. Thranduil in story is more faerie or grey/dark creature than a Tolkien elf. This story was inspired by a fanart I ran across on tumblr by Candra.  Last of all this story is heavily influenced by the fairy tales of “Beauty and the Beast” and “Snow White”.  Okay, useless author’s notes over. :P This story will be told partly from the reader’s POV and partly from Thranduil’s.

~ _Behold their beauty and their grace!_

_The song on the wind and the smiles they bring to your face!_

_Enjoy their music, enjoy their song_

_But I warn you do not linger long_

_They will tease, they will tempt_

_They will not truly show what their actions truly meant_

_Take in their beauty and love their sense of time_

_But beware the faerie food, and the cup they offer of their sweetest wine!_ ~

 

You had wondered into this forest hoping to see a house or at least a hut somewhere to shelter you from the cold or at least let you make some phone calls as your cell phone had died as well. You had forgotten your charger, and worse still the closest house outside of the forest was 15 miles back down the road. Snow was beginning to fall, and a blizzard was being called. Your car stalled and finally died on your way to see your dying mother. All you had to do was reach the other side of the forest and the city you grew up in would be there. You had seen from the top of the hill where your car had stranded you lights within the forest that could only be coming from a house or a cabin of sorts. It did not seem all that far away until now. The late afternoon was long gone and night was beginning to fall darkening the woods around you. You had already tried to find your way back out, but it was as if the layout of the forest had changed, and any landmarks you kept in your mind had vanished.

This forest which was old, and filled with tall, thick trees, shrubbery and clinging vines was beautiful in the light, though admittedly seemed darker than most and somewhat dangerous. You had grown up with the locals stories of the forest. Filled with faeries and elves. Sinister spirits that liked to kidnap children or lure people to dance until they died. While the people in the city you grew up in put such things up to superstition, you included, the farmers and the gamekeepers in the wilder areas closer to it swore they were true. Now, cold and lost with night soon approaching you were beginning to wonder if the people in the rural areas were right and what you had seen were faerie lights. You did not know much about faeries, elves and the like, you just knew they were not very welcoming to humankind according to the locals.

You continued on in the direction you had seen the lights until you stopped dead in your tracks coming to a swift moving stream which was unable to freeze over due to its power. You barely seen it in the light around you. You heard it before your eyes came upon it. Sounds were starting to bother you now as well. Frightening you, and making you look about wildly. Somethings you knew what they were. Others you had a harder time explaining. You had not felt like this since you were child separated from your mother in the mall and unsure where she had gone. The stream was the last straw. Snow had already fallen in the area a couple of days before. If it had not been for it’s pure white shimmer there would be nothing around you to reflect any light at all.

You sat down underneath a great beech tree and held your head in your hands. You wanted to pray. You wanted to scream. You wanted to cry. You just had no idea which one you wanted to do first. You had never felt more alone in your life and now, so cold, very hungry, and lost in a forest at night no one dared go into, you were sure you were sure you were going to die here.

“Help me someone please. Please.” You whispered to whoever or whatever was listening.

You looked up a moment later in alarm when you heard a series of twigs snap in front of you. You looked up across the way in alarm and then had to withhold a gasp. Shining almost as bright as the snow itself was a stag. A white stag, still fully crowned with an impressive crown of antlers. This struck you as odd since you knew bucks should have shed their antlers by now. The next thing that seemed off was how the creature seemed to glow in the little light there was. Not just reflective light but seemed to emit a glow all of its own. It’s eyes, wild and untamed had more than an animalistic look, they looked wise. They held you in their gaze, as if you were locked in them.

It regarded you for several moments, as if it was judging you to be friend or foe, taking stock of your situation. It shook its mighty head and turned its head to the left directing its gaze very fixatedly on a specific area. You turned about to look in the same direction and seen a wooden bridge. You turned back to look at the stag and seen it was gazing at you again. It gave a snort and stamped it’s foot swinging its head in the direction of the bridge.

You were not one to think you could communicate with animals. But one way or another it was a bridge. Hopefully, it was still in good enough repair that you could cross it and if nothing else find the way to the road that led you through the wood itself. Why did you ever go off the paved road? You asked yourself that for the millionth time as you stood and walked to the bridge keeping an eye on the white stag. It stayed where it was watching you.

After slipping a couple of times on hidden rocks and slippery undergrowth, you came to the bridge. It was wood, but it seemed solid enough. Iced over in spots and wooden hand rails that were covered in ice were on either wide. You put a wary foot out and tested the first board. It held, and then laying a hand gloved hand on an icy rail you put your full weight on it. It held, though the wood voiced its strain with a loud creak. You followed the same with the next three boards, then assured that the bridge was solid, sped up your pace as much as an ice covered bridge would allow.

When you finally were able to set your foot on solid ground again you let out a sigh of relief and looked over to the area where the stag was standing. Regally and slowly it walked to you. This made you a little uneasy. After all, bucks are not exactly the friendly type. It stopped about ten feet away from you and turned to its left and began to walk into the forest. You raised an eyebrow and waited for a few chilly moments – the air was cutting straight through your coat- for the stag to be a more healthy distance away before you set off on your own path.

However, the stag had other plans and walked no more than twenty paces before it stopped and turned around again to look at you. It snorted again, and stamped it’s hooves, then shook it’s head in the direction it was going prior as if telling you to follow it. Not wanting to seem stupid you still waited. This only appeared to agitate the great beast and it stamped and snorted again more loudly, inclining its head more vigorously to the path ahead.

You shrugged and figured you had little left to lose. What did it matter if you were blindly following a deer out of sheer desperation because you wanted to believe that something in this vast, dark, and what was starting to seem sinister place was willing to help you? If mauled you to death did it matter at this point? If it led you to the middle of nowhere did it matter? If you were hallucinating this whole thing it was better than thinking you were alone here. You were at a point of no return.

You kept a healthy distance between you and the white stag, and you could not help noticing that no matter the light, the stag did indeed glow. It led you on through thicker and denser wood. The snow was started to fall heavily even through the vast tree tops. No moon could be seen when you looked up to the heavens through the branches… only black, gray and white all above and even darker below.

It was indeed leading you, you realized half way through the maze it was directing you through. If it thought it was too far ahead it would stop and let your slowly freezing body catch up. Your breath was a pain deep in your chest. The cold made it a burden. Your legs and hands and exposed areas felt as if they would never regain feeling. You had long lost feeling in your feet from the ankles down. You wondered if you were developing frost bite. You were beginning to wonder if you were going to fall down to hypothermia. You were getting so sleepy.

Then through the snow and trees the stag stopped and gave a swift indication of its head. A path! A trodden one, but it was indeed a path. The stream had apparently turned into a river for you could hear it close by. But this was a path. Perhaps it led to the road? You bowed your head in silent thanks. Your lips were too chilled to utter a thanks. The stag nodded in return then turned and headed back into the forest at a much quicker speed.  

You eyed the path ahead. It was dark. But it was really there. Even in the dim light where only the snow blanketing the earth and the little bit of light there was from somewhere above the trees you see it. You slowly headed over it and took in a shattering breath of relief.

You continued to walk, but the trees and plants seemed to only grow more dense. You also figured you were finally getting ready to collapse into a state of a death trance for you thought you could hear voices on the wind.

“It led her here! We need to help her!”

“No one should be able to pass! The king said so!”

“Perhaps she can help him?!”

“Can anything or anyone really do that now?”

“Leave her go… let the king decide! No human has set foot on this trail in hundreds of years!”

“It will be for naught if he slays her anyway in his madness.”

“She will freeze to death then. What will you do? She is doomed regardless.”

“Let her go. Let him decide. I agree.”

In your delusion you thought you could see shapes of humans high in the trees peering down at you with bright eyes and armed with bows and arrows. You did not stop however. The only thing keeping you from collapsing was pressing forward.

When you thought the path was beginning to lead nowhere, and the voices around you continued to talk, the people you thought you seen watching you from above became more anxious, you finally collapsed at the base of willow tree. You sat for a few agonizing moments, listening to the voices making exclamations about you’re going to die here, and you’re almost there. Almost where was your question. Were the voices real? Were those people in the trees real? Were they the faeries and elves? Were the rural folk right?

Better to die here in your sleep. At least that is the way it was said to be. You just fall asleep and do not wake up again when you freeze to death. A stubborn part of you clinging to the last shreds of it not being ready to die yet forced you to look. You let out a laugh. There was another bridge there. You had not noticed until now that a great river flowed below you, and you were perched on a cliff. Over the long bridge were heavy doors leading to an immense palace carved into the stone of what looked to the entrance to a cave. The doors opened before your eyes.

You heard a voice above you yell “GET UP!”

You looked up seeing a man with shining yellow hair and vivid blue eyes staring down at you from the branches above.

“You MUST get up. If you do not you will die! I am not permitted to carry you in for you are not of my kind, and I do not wish to make a prisoner of you! GET UP!” His voice was pleading. It seemed strange what he said, but it gave your body one last shot of renewed strength.

Pain shot through your numb body as you did what he said. You slowly crossed the bridge. Your mind so numb to everything except those open doors that you did not notice that the bridge held no frost.

Your mind registered figures holding the doors open for you, but you could not really see them. All you seen were the open doors and as you approached lit pathways inside. It held the promise of warmth.

“HURRY!” One of the figures holding the doors open shouted waving a hand at you to beckon you on. You tried to move faster but you could not. Each movement was pain, each breath agonizing and full of frost.

Finally you made it the end of the bridge and you shuffled on your last legs through the doors. They closed quickly behind you. You took a few steps to the side of them, and collapsed. One thing you could feel was the burning sensation of heat around you. It was warm in here. But really did it matter?

“What is this?! What creature has dared enter my realm?” a deep voice echoed about you.

You tried to look up, but could not. The warmth of the place was starting to soak into you. It was just as painful as the freezing world outside. Only it burned instead of numbing you. Each limb felt like it was on fire.

The voice was now more pronounced, and your conscious realized someone was standing above you.

“How did you find this place? Why are you here?”

You looked up and seen him. A man. No, not a man. This person had to be a faerie or elf. He glowed like the stag. His ears were pointed like leaves. His eyes, vivid blue and unnerving, accented by dark eyebrows set in a pale face with white gold hair that flowed to his waist. He towered over you, and a crown of holly berries, incense cedar and beech wood branches adorned his pale head. His clothes looked as if they were taken out of a fairy story, but suited this ethereal creature like no other. He was beautiful and terrifying. His gaze upon you was intense.

Somehow you found your voice, small as it was to answer him, “The stag… a white stag led me to a path. It led me here. Please. I’m so cold. I’m so tired. Please do not send me back out there. I ask for nothing else. Just let me stay here until the storm ends and I will leave.”

The eyes scrutinized you. They seemed to peer deep into your soul. He seemed doubtful. “How did you come to be in my wood in the first place? Your kind has not dared to step foot in my realm for centuries.”

You tried to not feel buried under that powerful gaze, and focused on the question. “I was on the way to see my dying mother. There is a road that leads through the woods to the city beyond here,” you were finally able to stand, though wobbly. You lowered your head as you did. For some reason, it seemed the right thing to do. Whatever this man was, you were at his mercy, and beggars should never be haughty. “My car broke down. I saw some lights on in the woods… I thought a house was nearby in it so I could call for help. But there was no house… there was nothing. I just got lost, and if the stag had not found me, I probably would be dead by now.”

He raised an eyebrow at this, and looked you over from head to toe. He stepped closer still to you and bent down to attempt to be eye level with you. You tried not to lean away but could not help it. You were weak from exposure and being interrogated now by a creature that until this night you thought was not real.

“Look at me.” Came a commanding voice and you did as he said. “Do you know who I am?”

Your brow furrowed in thought for a moment and you felt yourself swallowing as you spoke the only answer you could come up with, “You’re the master of this wood. It’s king.”

“Very good, and you are in my realm. What does that make me to you?” he asked in a pointed tone.

Only one answer came to your mind as you felt crushed under that gaze like the omega wolf would under its alpha in a wolf pack. “My king.”

A strange smile came to his face at this, and he cocked his head to the side as his eyes softened finally, and released you from its terrible power. He looked you over again this time without the look someone would give a bug they’re about to crush. It seemed to go on forever and it made you self-conscious. An odd look had come into this eyes, and a part of it frightened you. There was something unsettling about it – ill even.

“My subjects sleep in bedrooms. Not the hallways.” He straightened to his full height and he still towered over you by several inches. “Come.

He led you through vast hallways and vertigo inducing bridges and stairwells. Your body finally had regained some of its warmth and you could walk easier, even though your muscles ached from the cold. He finally led you down a hallway to a set of closed doors and opened one to the right about half way down.

You stepped inside and seen a room that again looked like something from a fairy tale, and two red-headed elf-maids making the bed. They bowed to the man and looked upon you curiously before finishing and speedily leaving the room.

A fireplace was glowing orange with a new set blaze, and you rushed to it before you could think better of it. He followed inside and watched as you began to warm yourself further. He watched you intently, and you let your head nod a thankful bow to him.

“Than-“ you had started to thank him when he cut you off with an angry voice.

“Do not thank me! It is offensive to my kind.” You gave him a perplexed look. His anger was momentary and his voice was a great deal softer with a slight smile when he continued. “You show your gratitude by making use of what we have offered or made. Never thank us. It means it is not really appreciated.” As he continued you noticed he seemed to look past you into the corners by the windows as if he was looking at something there.

“I understand.” You replied softly, then turned your head a little to look where his attention was focused and made his eyes seem to glaze over with irritation though a small smile stayed planted on his lips. There was nothing there but shadows. You immediately looked back at him and watched as he continued to look at the spot, agitation continuing to grow on his face, then swift jerk of his head he turned his attention back to you, and the strange ill look was gone. You did your best to not seem put off by this. He once more looked you over once and again and frowned.

“Remove your clothes.” He ordered.

Your eyes went wide in both surprise and hesitation. “Excuse me?” you blurted out before you thought better of it as your hand came up to draw your wet clothes closer to yourself.

“Remove your clothes. You are cold and wet. You will catch your death.”

You looked away and around you for some place to do as he asked more discreetly, and finding none you found yourself just staring at him for a long moment unsure what to do. On one hand, he was right. On the other, what all could be going through this creature’s mind? Finding yourself put under that penetrating stare that only seemed to want to crush you for disobeying you began to do as he asked without thought. You wondered briefly if this was some sort of spell, but decided it was best not to inquire.

Your body let out a protest with each movement still sore from the cold. As you peeled off your thoroughly soaked clothes before him, trying to concentrate on something other than him watching each movement like it was a dance of some sort that he was reveling in, you found yourself looking your limbs over for the signs of frostbite. Finding none, just that your appendages were bright red, and felt like pins and needles in spots when you touched them, you felt a part of you relax. In a moment of wonder you felt your nose. It felt tender to the touch but you could definitely feel it. Which meant no dead tissue there either.

After you had stripped yourself of every thread you were wearing from head to toe, you put an arm over your breasts and the other over your nether regions to hide yourself from his view when you stood erect. You knew it was silly. He had literally just watched you undress in front of him. He had literally seen all of you already.

At this he slowly approached you, like a cat coming upon its prey. When he stood but five inches away from you he reached out and cupped your cheek in his hand. You jumped with a flinch at the contact. You had been through so much terror this night that you did not realize you were genuinely afraid of this person. After all, he was a creature of myth and magic. Who knew what he was capable of and more to the point what he really wanted to do with you?

A soothing smile came to his face as he graced his fingertips over both your cheeks. “I will not hurt you. I vow it.”

That did not really settle you too much. But you at least let yourself relax enough to let him do whatever it was he wanted. It seemed he just wanted to touch your face, and your hair. You noticed with each touch the area stopped aching or hurting. This gave you a bit more comfort. His hand moved down your neck to your shoulders which he seemed to content him and he let his hand drop at that. But with it, you noticed your body as a whole no longer hurt or ached. You glanced down at your toes, they no longer blazed red, but were a healthy color. He had healed you?!

You looked up at him with surprise at this, and your eyes only widened more when you seen him shrug out of his robe and with a swift one movement flourish wrap it around your shoulders bathing you in its royal purple depths. You used a single hand to pull it closer to yourself and keep your skin from his view.

This seemed to amuse him somewhat as you heard a deep throated rumble escape his lips. But you felt so sleepy and content at this moment. The robe was so warm, wonderfully soft and smelled of the cedar he wore in his crown and the spices. The forest. It smelled of a forest only not musty and dirty, but exotic and comforting. You took a moment to look around you, noticing references to the forest and above all else the stag in the tapestries and decorations in the room.

“May I ask about the stag your majesty?” you asked quietly. Until now you had only spoken when you were spoken to.

A genuine pleased smile crossed his features, lighting them up like fireflies dancing in the meadows. He put a warm hand on your shoulder and guided you over to the bed. You crawled in and laid down wrapping his robe about yourself.

“The white stag is the spirit of the forest. My spirit animal. I believe your mystics. We are one. I am the guardian and the keeper of this wood. It is the spirit of it. Do you understand?”

You nodded. You believed you did. They were both personifications of the other.

“There is more to its symbolism beyond that my lovely one. But that is the simplest way to explain such a thing.” He added and got up going to a table where food and drink you had not noticed before was laid out.

He brought it over and sat down on the edge of the bed. You thought it odd that it seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. You could have sworn that it was not there before now. “Eat. Drink.” He said kindly as he held it out to you.

Your senses were confused. On one hand they screamed danger. Do not partake! On the other, the logical part mused that you just escaped death from hypothermia – many things surly had escaped your notice. The food, lovely and alluring as it was did not really tempt you. You stomach was still ill from your bout with nature that you had nearly lost. The drink however…

“I’m sorry but I’m not really hungry.” You said as kindly as you could.

A look of annoyance crossed his features and for a moment he looked up past you, as if seeing something there again, the strange look in his eyes once more, then he shook his head and the kind smile returned, and he set the plate aside on a stand near the bed. Then held the cup out closer to you. “Then drink.”

“I really don’t…”

“Who am I to you?!” he said, his voice taking on a challenging tenor. It forced you to try and sink further into your bed.

“My king.” You squeaked out. Normally you were not this intimidated by anyone. Normally you were more confident and would have told a person acting like this to fuck off. Yet something deep within told you this was not a good idea. It was dangerous to not oblige him. Not the kind of dangerous where you get up and say ‘That was stupid of me’, but the kind where you do not live to tell the tale. After all, you were in his realm… and in it you were at his mercy and whims.

“Yes,” he hissed, “and I am telling you to drink.” It was a command not a request.

You nodded, and sat up taking the offered cup from his hands. Your eyes stayed glued upon him as you tipped it up and took a long sip from the cup. You did not know what it was, but it was wonderful and warm filling your body from head to toe with delicious heat. The cross expression left his face and he reached out to wipe away a stray drop of liquid from your lips. He took the cup and placed it on the stand next to the food.

“Feel free to drink or eat as you will. I must go for it is almost Faerie Time. The veil between worlds will be thinner and I must attend to my realm. Good night Miss…??”

“_yourname_” you finished for him, watching his catlike movements as he stood and headed to the door.

“_yourname_. Sleep well.”

“Good night.” You softly voiced. He merely nodded and opened the door and closed it behind him leaving only the scent of incense cedar behind.

You let out a deep breath and relaxed looking at your surroundings again, and then to the cup. Whatever was in it was so tempting and so delicious. You found yourself reaching over and picking it up once more, draining it of its contents. Empty, you set it back on the stand and settled yourself into your bed for the night. A part of you was screaming that you were now lost to the world forever. Another part did not care what that intuitive part of you was saying. You stared ahead at a tapestry above the fireplace. The king was in the middle arms outstretched eyes to the heavens mouth open as if speaking an incantation or some sort of spell. The white stag was beside him. Around them woods were budding with new life, and the creatures of the forest – ones you knew and ones you could never name danced around a fire in the distance in a reel.

You closed your eyes watching the shadows from the fire dance across it. It made the tapestry seem alive. The creatures and animals were dancing. The leaves and buds were opening and closing and you fell into a dream-filled sleep. The creatures were still dancing in your dream. Music you had never heard the like of before filled the air, and the king was in the middle with his great white stag speaking low in a trance calling forth life and death to the realm he kept.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As you rest peacefully, the king calls forth the forces of nature, and the reader glimpses the hell he goes through at all times within his own mind.

She started laughing like a crazed person from her spot in the shadows. Thranduil glared at her with indignation.

 

“I cannot believe you gave her the food of The Blessed. What, my king? Do you think she can ‘save’ you?”

 

“Be silent foul creature! My choices are no concern of yours!” Thranduil shot back tightening his grip on the stem of his wine glass.

 

The woman just let out another laugh at his outburst. She came out of the shadows then her appearance ever pale and ghostly, beautiful and terrible at once. “Foul creature? You used to call me your greatest love.”

 

Thranduil continued glaring, teeth bared like a wild cat ready to pounce. “You are not what you once were.”

 

She scoffed. “And whose fault is that, ‘my lord’? I’m not the one who tried to be a necromancer.” Her smile, which was feral and mocking left her features, replaced only with a stern expression. “You knew the price.”

 

The stem on the wine glass snapped in his hand, as he reached his limit. “GET OUT!!!” he shouted at the top of his lungs throwing the wine glass across the room. It hit the wall with a crash and red liquid stained the stones he color of blood.

 

She gave out another mocking laugh. “As you wish…”

 

She retreated into the shadows but Thranduil could still the outline of her figure and the ever mocking mile on her red lips. He knew she would still be there. She was always there.

 

Thranduil turned and walked to the heavy wooden door of his chamber and opened it feeling her move in the shadows beside him. Following him. Always following him. He went to the deep parts of the earth, and out unto the very bridge you had come across. He looked across it, at the blizzard raging on about his wooded realm. He spoke a quick incantation and brought his hand to his lips. He blew out a breath across his fingertips and it carried his voice upon the wind reaching the ears of every elf who still braved the storm.

 

“Come inside and rest. The forces of wind and chill protect us tonight.”

 

Quietly and deftly all made their way across the enchanted bridge, and back into the warmth of the king’s halls. The king however retreated further and deeper within. Lower and deeper into rooms below even his own dungeons. As he entered he noted she did not follow. As was usual.

 

The cavernous main room was lit by torches and lycan, ivy and nightshade creeped along it’s walls. A gold rune was permanently tiled into the floor. The room had sparsely little else aside from his staff, and lanterns. A table with various bottles and potions, and of course a large cauldron to brew them in. A book of spells. A book of reference and tales. Along the walls in a circular pattern eight tall, proud standing objects, all covered with a cloth.

 

He past them without a glance turning his attention to the mouth of a dark hallway where the white stag appeared, heading his call. He nodded to it in silent acknowledgement, and it snorted a greeting. Thranduil then turned to a spot in front of the table and gathered his lanterns, set them each at their points about the symbol on the floor, and lit them. He walked to the opposite wall behind the tall objects and grabbed his scepter which was leaning against the wall. Thranduil entered the middle of the symbol and the stag began to circle around the outside.

 

He tapped the staff three times on the hard ground and closed his eyes, relaxing his mind and heart, and with this began his ancient chant. With each pass the stag made the symbol glowed brighter and brighter, and with it his voice began to boom against the walls filling it with a thunderous sound though he never raised his voice even an octave.The sound was deafening by the time he finished.

 

Only during these rituals would she stay behind and never interfere. She dare not even enter. This was a protected, pure place… something she was not.

 

Uttering his last words while in his trance, Thranduil opened his eyes, perspiration dripped down his face and body. The new season was set in it’s course. The trees, plants, animals, even his own and his people themselves - all that should be born or pass had their fates sealed as of that moment. Thranduil tapped the scepter on the floor three times again. It was done.

 

He stepped out of the circle and collapsed feeling the power drain from him. He let out a couple of deep, hard caught breaths, before standing as the symbol’s glow died returning to it’s normal gold motif. Thranduil gave a quick glance to the stag. Both nodded at the other and then it slowly went back out the way it had came. As immortal as he, it would suffer no ill effects from the storm, and would in fact relish in it.

 

Thranduil went to each lantern in turn, speaking a blessing before extinguishing each flame, gathering it’s chain in hand. He placed them back by the table behind the symbol, and returned his staff to it’s prior place.

 

Weary, he hesitated before taking the winding stairs up to the main floor knowing in the shadows his tormentor would be waiting at the top. She dared not come to the deep places of the earth. It was where she was made, and it is where she could be unmade. That was where lie the problem.

 

He closed his eyes as he took the last step up ready for the deluge. When none came, he looked around himself, finding her perched on a chair in the shadows. Green eyes shimmering, hair pale and moonlit blond - yet somehow not the color it was before…. Skin pale and unreal. She didn’t glow, but he could always clearly see her even in the shadows she lived in. She said nothing, and he merely stared at her long and hard, before turning and heading to the stairways which would eventually lead to the bed chambers.

 

He felt her moving along the corridors with him, and he did his best to pretend she was not there. His people thought him to be mad. He knew that. He heard the hushed exclamations in the night when they thought he was not paying attention. If only they knew the real truth, they would be even more horrified!

 

Finally he reached the corridor where you were sleeping. He could not resist the pull he felt when he came to the entrance, and upon seeing your sleeping form, went inside. His breath escaped him when he looked at you. You glowed with the same golden light of his own symbol had in your sleep, and he could not help musing that you were one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.

 

As he came to your side, he looked up and around him, then at the door. Crouched in the hallway shadows she lingered staring wide-eyed and frightened at your sleeping figure. He could not keep himself from making the smirk that came to his lips at seeing this. She let out an animal-like snarl. He walked back to the door and shut it. She would not enter. She could not.

 

But he knew as he came to your side and lay down next to you reaching a hand out to touch your face,with his fingertips and run them through the strands of your hair exactly why. You were now tied to him and this place. His fate rested in your oblivious hands. Could you be the one to correct the mistake he had made so long ago? Heal him and his realm of the darkness he had brought unto it due to his grief and desperation?

 

It was not kindness that made the stag lead you there. It was not the sheer need for contact with an non-judging party - and one he found so alluring at that which let his ill temper leave him at the site of your eyes. It was providence.

 

He wound his body about yours, cradling you in his arms tenderly and you turned into him welcoming the warmth in your sleep state. Tonight he could truly rest. For the first time in ages he would sleep undisturbed.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
   
You awoke to the sound of a harp being played in the distance. A tenor voice accompanied it with words you didn’t understand. For a moment you did not remember where you were, or for that matter, what happened the night before. You found yourself confused for those long seconds, before your eyes came to rest on the tapestry above the fire place. Everything came flooding back to you in that moment.  
   
You took a deep breath, smelling that unique smell of incense cedar and spices that floated about the king. You sat up quickly and looked about yourself. You felt ravenous. As the beautiful, haunting music still danced about you on the wind, you seen the most delicious bowl of fruit you had ever seen on the table. Beside it a golden goblet beckoned with a pitcher of what looked like the wine from the night before.  
   
You gathered the robe about yourself and went to the table, plucking the reddest, ripest strawberry you had ever seen from the bowl. As soon as you bit into it you felt as if you had never eaten a strawberry before, so sweet yet tart was it’s juice that it seemed unnatural. You found yourself taking several more from the bowl before looking at a rather odd looking apple. Part white, part red, you tasted it on both sides and almost moaned in delight at the sweetness.  
   
You heard the song on the wind more pronounced than before and after pouring and taking a drink of the wine, you pulled the garnet colored garment tightly about you and went to investigate. Out the heavy wooden door and down the hall to a room to the right it seemed to be coming from.  
   
When you came upon the room you seen to your surprise one of the elves that had urged you on the bridge standing just in the doorway. He turned to look at you when he felt your presence. When the vivid blue eyes met yours you seen tears in them.  
   
He looked back inside the room golden hair swishing behind him as you approached his side.  
   
“He has not touched that harp in an Age, nor sand in centuries.” he whispered.  
   
You looked up at the tall elf and seen him wipe away the tears hastily. You stared at him for a long moment in wonder, then peered around him. Bathed in almost blinding candlelight and moonlight from the windows sat the Elvenking, harp leaned against him and his hands expertly stroking and plucking the strings in tune to his melody. His eyes were closed lost in the words, and his beautiful face framed in waterfall of moonlit hair.  
   
“It is hard for me to not feel that you have some cause in this. If so, I offer my blessings to you most wholeheartedly.”  
   
He brought his hand to his chest and outstretched the other, then took his leave. The king played on for several minutes, then coming to the end of his song, sighed and pushed the harp to it’s standing position. He looked up and a sweet, endearing smile came to his face.  
   
“Y/N! You are finally awake!” he cried out joyously.  
   
You stepped back at the suddenness of it. He stood, watched you for a moment, seeing that your face wasn’t contorted in fear, he crossed the room to you, and put his hands on your shoulders. You peered up at him wide-eyed. He looked like an angel. So beautiful and ethereal with his moonlight hair, perfect mouth, lovely face, and the eyes - intense and piercing to the soul, you almost mused that he was perhaps. After all, what kind of creatures were elves really anyway?  
   
“Yes, your majesty.” You said quietly letting a nervous smile come to your face.  
   
He took your hand then and pulled you along with him to a bench beside the harp he had been playing. “Did you eat the fruit I had sent to you, or would you like me to send for something now?”  
   
You raised your eyebrow at him. This was a vastly different creature than the intimidating dragon of a being you had witnessed the night before. You swore him to be mad with some of his eccentric mannerisms. You shook off your thoughts. You did not know him truly… He was not even human? How would you know how a creature of his caliber would behave?

 

 

"Yes, I ate some of it before I heard your music. The song was very beautiful."

 

He nodded with a small smile on his lips. "I am afraid it took me a while to remember the notes. It has been a while since I have played, or raised my voice in song." He shifted, and interlaced his fingers with yours causing you to look down at your interlocked hands for a moment. "Do you wish to have more food? More fruit, or even venison perhaps?"

 

You offered a small smile to him, which lit his features up incredibly, "Perhaps later sir. I was wondering if you could tell me where... my cloths are...?"

 

His expression changed for a split second - a flash of anger in his eyes and his eyes were drawn to the dark corner of the room. He narrowed his eyes at it, then the brief moment was gone. It left you a little spooked. You raised an eyebrow and ventured, "Are you okay, sir?"

 

He turned his attention back to you, and the small smile returned, "I am sorry. I was distracted by something for a moment. Your clothes are being cleaned and dried. In the meantime, you may wear anything you find in the amoire of your chambers."

 

You found yourself turning slightly to the area he had been so preoccupied with, but caught yourself. For whatever reason, your instinct told you not to look. Not because you thought you would find something hideous there, but you knew you would find nothing. Not wanting to antagonize him, you forced a large grin on your face. "That is very kind of you." It was you knew. However, you knew you needed to be on your way. It was night again, or so it seemed by the sun setting in the background, and you needed to make it to your mother's bedside.

 

"You will have dinner with me tonight. Fruit alone can not sustain one of your kind in this season." He stood, the smile remaining on his lips.

 

"I do not mean to sound ungrateful, but as soon as my clothing is ready I believe I should not..." What was the best expression you could use for such a regal creature to such an invitation? "Encroach on your hospitality and be on my way."

 

His face and eyes melted into a wave of fury at this and suddenly his face was but 2 inches from yours. His voice, though still steady held an edge that frightened you as he hissed, "It was not a request! You will there, and you will not leave these Halls until I say you can!"

 

Your mouth fell agape at this, and though frightened you could not help the flurry of words coming from your mouth, "What?! Am I prisoner here?! I told you I just needed a place out of the cold to rest for the night! My mother is dying and if I don't get there in time I will never forgive myself!" The last sentence came out as a strangled remark, tipped with the guilt and pain you had been fighting back the whole journey.

 

He did not falter one second. He did not even blink. "Your mother's life is already spent, and you are foolish to even wish to want to leave my halls. Where will it get you but back at my doors begging my mercy from the dark and cold again? You will never find your way through my wood unless I wish it. So, I offer you a seat at a table of immortals and spirits. Food of the wisest, oldest creatures on this earth. And to spend it with me, while I am not all that pleasant I dare to believe I will make a better companion than a fading, silent shell of a human who will not even remember who you are when you arrive."

 

He backed away from you by several feet in what seemed to strides at this. You stared at him in shock, and tears threatened to come forth at his words. You bit them back and merely looked down at the floor. The words stung with both truth and with how both selfish and generous the offer was at once. Weakly you found yourself asking, "I am your prisoner then?"

 

You began wringing your hands into the cloth of the robe wrapped about you.

 

There was a long moment of silence and quietly he came to stand in front of you and outstretched a hand with several rings on it. Each depicted an element of the forest, a spider for it's shadows, a snake for it's cunning, a branches and thorns for the trees and green life. You heard him speak in a much more gentle voice, "Forgive me, it has been a long time since I have had the true company of the gentle sex. No, you are not my prisoner. You may leave at any time. But know, I do not recommend a mortal leaving in the dark of night which comes swiftly and awakens more sinister creatures than a lonely," he scoffed at his next word, " _mad_ , Elven king." You looked up at the hand then the owner of it, a somber but kind look was on his face. "I vow I will let you return to the mortal world with ample time to give your farewells to your mother."

 

You stared at the bejeweled hand for a long moment before reaching out and grasping it, "Thank you, my king." You looked up at him and let a small, sad smile come to your face, which he returned with an understanding one. You knew not why you felt the need to add 'my king' to the end of that, but you felt it necessary. _So he is mad?_

 

This was your last thought as he led you hand in his out of the room.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A banquet and a surprise...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how long it has taken me to release this chapter. I got really sick for a while, and am only just now recovering enough to take this up again.

You were led down the hallway back to your room and he went inside with you. Upon entry he went to the side of your bed and pulled on a long rope of fabric, then went across the room to the wardrobe. When he opened it, you seen a full array of brightly colored clothes with in and he began pulling some of them out, examining each one down to the last stitch. Some he put back, others he hung over his arm. A couple of minutes later as the pile on his arm grew a red-haired servant girl came in and curtsied. Wordlessly she crossed the room to the king.

 

Without looking at her he said, "I wish her to wear these tonight with the Blue Sapphires of the Glen. Bind her hair loosely."  The girl merely nodded and went across the room laying the clothes on the bed and beckoned to you with a wave of her hand. You had stood motionless just inside the entrance to what you assumed to be your own room just watching in silence until then. The king turned and nodded at you with a hint of a smile and left you with the elf-maid.

 

She set to work immediately going to another cupboard and bringing out linens and wash clothes. Another drawer in the wardrobe held jeweled hair pins, combs, ribbons and a hairbrush. You sat down on the bed as she made her preparations to dress you up like a live doll. Dainty shoes were taken out of the bottom of the wardrobe and fresh water with flower petals was poured in the washing basin. After she made sure you took care of bodily needs she proceeded to help scrub you down from head to toe despite your protests that you could do it yourself, then she began dressing you. What had seemed like a lot of clothes really was not and to your horror no types of underwear or even slips were provided save the skimpy white satin that was put over you before a light blue pure lace dress with golden flecks was put over it.

 

She turned her attention to your hair next and she managed to twist and in some way entwine parts of it with ribbons and hold it partially up, but mostly down with combs and hairpins. They jewels on the pins and combs sparkled with each movement you made. At this she told you to stay there and she left for several minutes. With her leaving you found yourself going to a mirror that hung on the far wall. You hardly recognized yourself. You looked like part of a fairy story... As if you belonged here in this gothic, mystical place. You examined yourself in all angles and still came to the same conclusion. However, something about your looks bothered you. You couldn't quite pin it down until you stepped completely up to the mirror. It was your eyes. You could not place how, but they were changed in some form. It sent a shiver down your spine.

 

The maid returned at this, and with her she brought a wooden box that had a lock and a key dangling on her wrist. You came back over to the spot you had been sitting at and resumed your seated position as she laid the box down next to you. You watched with a nervous anticipation as she put the key in and turned it. When she opened it your eyes boggled and you found yourself swallowing hard as she lifted out of the box a necklace of deep blue sapphire and sparkling white gems. The set was one that you could never even dream of in it's beauty. Your hand came up to touch one oddly warm jewel as she fastened it about your neck. This was a necklace only a queen should wear.

 

Satisifed with her handiwork, the maid stepped back from you, and walked to the mirror you had been admiring yourself in earlier and gestured to it. Getting up you and going to it, you again met your reflection and momentarily seen the odd look your eyes now beheld. You chose to focus on the necklace and the look as a whole as you knew this was what she wanted you to do. Wholly as perfect as you could get, you offered her a shy smile, which she returned. She curtsied and left you in your room.

 

You looked out the window to your room and seen it was night. Or at least as dark as night outside. You walked to it and peered out. The snow covered woods greeted you outside. Would he really let you go before your mother died? Could you really trust this beautiful, powerful but dangerous creature of the woods?

  
"-yourname-." A voice you had come to know as the king's said softly behind you, "Shall we go? The feast is ready."

 

You turned around looked at him and could not help smiling a little. His outfit matched your own only without the lace. A light blue intricately detailed tunic with golden lace at the ends of his sleeves, and soft cream trousers, only offset with black deer-skin thigh high boots he wore. The cloak lined in gold cloth and the same light blue fabric as his tunic hung at his shoulders.  Regal, and you had to admit, exquisite in his bearing he entered and came to you, and offered his arm. Feeling a flush come to your cheeks at the way he seemed to ogle you in a more than friendly way, you looked away and let him lead you out of the room arm in arm.

 

"You look very beautiful." He said softly as he walked with you down the dizzying sets of walkways and corridors. You could not help grinning like an idiot at that.

 

Finally you were led to a large room where trees grew about you, leaves still falling from their branches, and everything seemed to glisten with dew. Dominating the center of it was a long, heavy, wooden table of made of oak. A blue and white table cloth covered the top, and it was set with an array of food, each delectable in it's own way. The room was thick with an unspoken energy that you had felt on and off since you had entered the place, and out of nowhere people seemed to file in. Their dresses and suits a glittering display of color and fantasy.

 

As he led you to the center of the table and sat you down beside him in a wooden chair carved with blossoms and leaves, upholstered with red velvet and golden studs, you noticed them eyeing you and whispering to each other as you passed.The couple seated beside you, a dark haired elf-man accompanied by a pretty strawberry blond resplendent in their brown and gold clothing smiled at you constantly. The king waved a hand over the food, and elves which were clearly serviors came out of nowhere and starting with the king, then you, filled your plates quickly and to the brim.

 

You noticed throughout the evening that though his conversation was polite, the king's mood became increasingly agitated and fixated on a darkened corner of the room. By the time he gave leave for the dances to start you noticed him unconsciously grinding the tip of a knife into the wood of the table cutting a hole in the tablecloth. He spoke little to you throughout the evening and as a result you were inclined to eavesdrop. There was the usual talk about the food, the finery of the attendants, the king's obvious bad mood, who was sleeping with who, who hated who, who wanted to be with who, and as you knew it would turn to it, yourself. One person described you as sweet and lovely like a delicate cake, another questioned how mad the king had actually become bringing a mortal to their table. Many assumptions were made about his purposes for you - most of which seemed to be of the opinion that he intended to either make you his servant or his concubine. While you didn't seem to care much for the idea of being a servant to a mad elf king, the idea of being his concubine sent a rather shameful wave of excitement through you that pooled between your legs.

 

It was not until that moment that you realized you actually had a sexual attraction to him - this unpredictable, moody but ethereal and beautiful creature who had saved you from the cold. Perhaps they were right, and he had put a spell on you after all?

The king's preoccupation with the darkened corner forced you to keep looking at it all the time too. While you seen nothing, whether it was his focus on it, your imagination or something intuitive deep down, it made you very uneasy. And whatever mad thought had entered into the king's mind over was even more disconcerting. You couldn't help constantly glancing over at him, especially when he had the knife in hand.

 

Mid-way through the second dance he turned his attention on you with a soft smile, yet you could still see the dark look in his eyes. "Would you care to dance -yourname-?"

 

"Ah..." you looked at the floor, watching the couples waltz past in assured confidence and eloquence, swallowed a nervous chuckle, and replied with a smile, "I would love to my king, but I don't know how to dance like this..."

 

He actually laughed at this, a wonderful sound of mirth that tinkled off the crystal glasses and chandeliers. "I will not take that as an excuse. I happen to be a wonderful teacher."

 

Your eyes went big at this and the nervous feeling of knowing you were about to make a complete fool of yourself in front of a bunch of high profile individuals settled in your stomach. He stood undeterred and held out his hand. You knew this invitation wasn't a request but a command. The set look in his eyes made that clear. You gave him a nervous smile, followed by an even more insecure chuckle and laid your hand in his letting his pull you up.

 

He led you to the floor and took you in his arms, pulling you close to him, one hand not on your waist but actually under your arm near your breast, leaving one of your hands on his shoulder. The other he grasped aloft, and told you, "Okay my right, your left. I step forward and you step back, then your right foot and my left. And then so on. Just follow my lead and do not worry about bumping in to others. You must trust me."

 

"I leave myself in your capable hands." you said weakly.

 

"Ready? Now...1...2..3..." and he stepped forward and you back just as he said, and continued the pattern for a couple minutes counting off before he stopped counting and merely led you about. Throughout the awkward dance (at least awkward to you) you had to resist the urge to look down especially when he decided to turn. You stepped on his toes more than a few times, but he seemed to take it in good humor. Something, considering his prior mood, you were grateful for. Just when you were getting the hang of it the music stopped and he stopped with it.

 

"Sorry..." you mumbled. He raised his eyebrows at this in question. "For stepping on your toes so much."

 

An amused smile lit up his features. "It is fine. I expected it. At least you were honest, and told me you did not know how instead of attempting to mask it. Rare for your kind..."

 

"My kind?" you whispered more to yourself than anyone. You weren't sure if that was an insult or a compliment.

 

"Humans. Many would rather try to save face and exaggerate their abilities, than admit to a lack of knowledge of something, or worse not being good at it."

 

"Ah..." You responded and figured that was supposed to be a compliment. You resisted the urge to thank him mindful of his outburst when you tried to before.

 

He began to walk back to the side of the table arm in arm with you. Many of the attendees smiled and bowed then whispered as you past. The king seemed oblivious to them.  "Forgive me. I did not mean to offend you if I have." He said looking at the perplexed and troubled look on your face. "I meant it in good cheer. My kind often forget to account for the feelings of a mortal when we speak or act."

 

"It's fine." you said quickly with a tight smile. You knew he was right, it was just one of those pills that were hard to swallow knowing you basically represented the entire human race at the moment. He then gave you a look that sent a thrill down your spine and again it took root right in between you legs once more.

 

"I did mean it as a compliment to you. I am glad you came." The statement was a husky whisper paired with a lustful look. He had captured you with his storm grey eyes once more, and you felt as if you were going to drown in them. "I wish to take you somewhere."

 

He released you from his gaze which made you stagger for a moment. Was that a spell? Your momentary disorientation made it hard to discern if it was possible. All you knew was that he slowly led you out of the banquet hall and down a series of corridors. Downhill it seemed and then finally down a darkened path where a guarded door engraved with a vines and blossoms surrounding rubies remained closed. The guards opened the door at the king's approach and he pulled you within. The room was large and lit at first by a single fire at the other side of it. However when you and he stepped forward torches blazed to life of their own accord lighting your path.

 

Yet even with that light there was still little you could see, until you reached the end of the  room seeing two large upholstered chairs, books lining the shelves, tables, the fireplace raging  in a rich mahogany and on a perch nearby what looked like a small... dragon?! Behind it in the dim light you seen another set of wooden doors. Curious as you were, since he did not speak and did not seem inclined to sit, you assumed this was not the place he intended for you to share with him.

 

He smiled at the creature on the perch and held his arm out. It gave a tiny little, what you had to take as a roar, and let out an honest to God purr, then beat it's wings and flew to his outstretched arm. It crawled up to his shoulder and entwined it's neck about Thranduil's as the king turned to look at you. He rubbed it under it's chin and it closed it's eyes, giving out another little purr in happy contentment. You couldn't help staring it. Golden reptilian eyes and a spikey head regarded you and then it unwound itself about it's master and took to the wing again. You jumped and avoided the urge to swat when it landed on your shoulder.

 

It sniffed your hair and inclined it's long neck out to look you fool on, then wound itself around your neck and rested it's head on your shoulder with a purr.

 

"Is this a..."

 

"Dragon? Yes. Yes, he is. His name was once Smaug. But I had to force him to diminish and shrink to hide him - else man would have killed him. He is one of the last of his noble kind."

 

You felt the dragon rub it's head on your neck affectionately, and you smiled. "Somehow I imagined a dragon to be a bit more grander."

 

"He was... He was once the most feared guardian of treasure and land to be seen. Do not be fooled by his pet-like demeanor. He is just as intelligent and can be just as powerful as you or I. He chose to be this size. He once had a mate... but she is no more." His eyes took on a haunted look, and they trailed to an unlit corner of the room. You resisted the urge to turn and look. Silence overtook the room for a moment, until after being nuzzled several times by the reptile the king said with an upturn on his lips, "He likes being rubbed under his chin and on the back of his neck."

 

Tentatively you reached up and felt the creature basically lay his head in your palm. You scratched him under his chin and stroked him like a cat. He even purred like one. The king watched the exchange intently, a satisifed smile coming to his face when the dragon nuzzled you even more.

 

"He likes you... That speaks a lot of you."

 

"What does it mean?"

 

He didn't answer. He merely smiled more fully, and then raised his arm to beakon the dragon unto him. It snorted and then you felt it beat it's wings and take off. It landed gracefully on his arm, and made it's way back up to his shoulder. Once it wound it's way about his neck Thranduil held his hand out to you again, and he stepped towards the wooden doors.

 

He opened one with his free hand and put a hand on your back to let you know to go in first. He followed and shut the doors behind you, engulfing you in near darkness. But a second later you felt his hand in yours once more. You looked about you eyes adjusting to the night around you. In a crevice ahead of you a dim pale moonbeam shone on what looked to be still water, then a second later the room began to twinkle with what you thought were stars. Once they did, you noticed the fullness of a lake around you, and that this room seemed to be hewn out of a cave or rock. You felt his hand tighten in yours briefly and the dragon perched on his shoulder hissed and a moment later blew out a small puff of flame. You looked at each in turn, and then at the hand in yours.

 

The twinkling stars went out for a moment, then slowly came back to life again. You realized as you should have earlier they were glowworms. But you couldn't help imagining they were really stars. Looking ahead you seen them reflected in the pool of water ahead of you.

 

"I used to come here often with my wife... I have not come here since she died, until this moment." You looked up at him, aglow in the night his eyes lost in thought. "We would wade out in to the water and... love one another. Caress and touch until the moon became lit with the sun."

 

"I'm sorry..." It was all you could think of at the moment.

 

He looked at you and nodded before looking back out over the water. Your gaze followed.

 

"It's beautiful." You finally managed, which caused him to glance at you again, this time with a smile.

 

"I wanted to show it to you. I wish to share these waters with you one day," he said quietly. You almost did not hear him.

 

Your mouth opened in shock at the confession, and once more you seemed locked in his gaze. You turned into him and he followed beginning to lean down. Your lips almost touched his when all at once he stood straight, his attention drawn to the darkest corner of the room. You seen him bare his teeth and you could hear a barely audible curse leave his lips. The dragon seemed to be equally disturbed and let out another puff of fire in the corner's direction. You stared at the spot in question, and though you could not see anything something about the sheer darkness and chill of it filled you with dread.

 

"Come... Let us leave. I know you must be tired," he murmured in a stately fashion, pulling you along with him out the door.

 

He closed the door behind you both, crossing the room with you in tow, and settled the dragon back on it's perch. He gave it one final scratch under the chin and quickly, almost as if fleeing from something, led you out of the room.

 

He did not even glance back when the doors clamored shut behind him. Hastily he guided you through the corridors once again, only slowing when you met with the more well-lit paths that you were beginning to become familiar with. You and he had finally resumed a normal pace when he lead you to the doors of your room.

 

"Please rest." He looked away and back as if unsure what to say.

 

You decided to ease the tension. "I will try. Everything was very... beautiful and fascinating." You winced at the last word, but unsure how else to explain it, you let it rest at that.

 

He smiled and nodded. "I fear I will probably be unable to see you much tomorrow. Please feel free to roam this wing of the palace as you will."

 

You nodded in understanding. So, he intended for you to stay tomorrow then? What about the tomorrow after that? Was he truly going to keep his word and let you leave? You pushed the thoughts aside and smiled at him.

 

"Please drink some of the wine before you sleep. It will help calm you." Again, you nodded in understanding. "Rest well."

 

"You as well." you replied as if in automaton.

 

With that he turned and left, glancing back at you only once before disappearing around a corner. After you heard his footsteps fade away you went inside, finding the elf-maid from earlier turning down your bed then going to the table and pouring a glass of the aforementioned wine. She held it out to you, which with a sigh of resignation, crossed the room and took. She led you to your bed, and slowly began to peel off your refinements, starting first with the dazzling jewels about your neck. Absently, you sipped the sweet wine, feeling it's warmth fill you as if by a spell itself.

 

Once she had undressed you and put away the jewels and clothes, after dressing you in a silky white negligee she curtsied and left wordlessly. For a moment you thought that hers must be a very ungrateful job.

 

However your thoughts soon turned to the night you had just had. What was it that overtook him? Whatever it was had to deal with the shadows. Was there really something there that none of the rest of you could see? Was this king really mad after all?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to extend a very warm thank you to all of my readers who are enjoying this story! Thank you for your comments, kudos, likes and support! It means a lot.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spells are weaving their way about you, and some of the depth of the king's abilities and plans begin to unfold, if only you really could take a hint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I know it's been a while. I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Originally this chapter was a great deal longer, but I decided to divide up a huge chapter into 6 parts. So, I will be posting 6 new chapters soon. Lots of things are going to happen! Again, thank you to everyone who has supported me during the writing of this story and commented, shared, liked, bookmarked, and in short enjoyed it. It means a lot!

FOR the next few days you seen little of the king save when he took you to dinner. You were told you were free to explore the palace in his absence, which you did at first reluctantly then found it an interesting occupation.  You found a library, but the books were written in another language and alphabet. You found the kitchens, and quite accidently found the prince's and servant's quarters. You found the enchanted indoor hot springs which had given you pause at first worried you were perhaps situated over a thermal vent, until you were assured otherwise. You also found a spacious and what seemed endless a garden. At the end of your third day's exploration, you had found the former queen's quarters.

 

 

Legolas was there, and let you in when you approached the door. He assured you that it was okay, and when you entered, it felt as if magic itself was thick in the air. White curtains swished about in an unknown breeze, something which seemed to occupy all rooms, but even more so here. A fire was lit though the occupant would not return. Not a spec of dust was found anywhere, and not one trinket seemed out of place or tarnished.

 

 

The open wardrobe housed gowns that sparkled and glowed regally and beautiful in the light. Each perfume bottle, and comb glittering in the firelight was put just as it was left.  The made bed with the silver trimmed comforter seemed still warm with it's previous occupant's body. It felt beautiful and terrifying at once.

 

 

Finally, Legolas the unspoken curiosity in the room which hung on the wall covered with a dust cloth behind a golden mirror. You gasped at it's revelation.

 

 

"This is my mother." His gaze was unemotional, almost hard.

 

 

"She's beautiful," was all you could muster.

 

 

It did little justice. A woman was seated on a stool in the picture in front of the king. Proud and lovely just as was her husband. Her hair was blond with just a hint of strawberry in it's highlights, falling in a straight waterfall to the floor. Dancing green eyes that were just as ethereal as her husband's. A beautiful red mouth gave a hint of a smile, and the petite nose was perfect. Her build was much smaller than her husband's. The dress, just a hint of blue was decorated it seemed in starlight itself, and the delicate bejeweled hand lay confidently on the hand of her husband's at her shoulder.

 

 

You and Legolas stared at it for a while before he spoke. "Yes, she was very beautiful. She died as a result of her own vanity, sadness and ill temper. But yes... she was once known as the fairest creature in the land."

 

 

The choice of words gave you pause, and ripped your gaze away from the couple in the picture to their son. A red flag went up in your mind for some reason with in you. Afterall, where had you heard that before?

 

 

 

 

******

 

 

 

That night you found yourself given a new wine-red gown and a set of jewels that you were told were yours to keep. Astonished still when you were dressed and primped into a state that rivaled even the elven maids that attended his banquets. You felt humbled by it.

 

 

He led you down what was becoming familiar pathways and tall arches to the same banquet hall as before, and every night since.  Each night, just as this one, it was set exquisitely. Each night, though it seemed more pronounced than the previous ones, he led you in like a proud, prancing peacock to the seat you had next to him, and later to the dance floor. Throughout the night the shadows bothered him into a provoked state. This night he ordered more torches to be brought and placed where the darker shadows lie.

 

 

As he lead you across the dance floor you became increasingly aware that he was pressing you closer against him than he normally did. You found yourself getting lost in his arms and that blue eyed gaze of his. Stars danced in your mind, and you felt like a spell was being weaved tighter about your soul. Something important seemed to be defying your memory, but the harder you reached to remember it, the more elusive it became.

 

 

It felt as if you had been here in his realm for centuries, and days at once. Time itself seemed to have no meaning here. Your spirit seemed to start embracing the tall, lithe creature who held you possessively in his arms.  What seemed at once both an eternity and moments later he stopped dancing with you , and pulled you along by your hand down to another hall. You found yourself laughing merrily, and his own smile and laughter mingled with your own. he led you to the gardens, and brought you deeper within it than you had yet gone.

 

Spring and summer seemed to be held together in the same place forever  there. Blooms and leaves surrounded you, and a waterfall of an unknown source was passed, it's height obscured by a heavy mist and the limbs of the tall trees about you. Soft moss was beneath your feet, and he led you around a set of tall white trunks into a hollow.

 

 

There is was just like in the queen's bedroom. Magic heavy in the air coupled with the scent of lilac and rose. He stopped before a thick set of vines, and shrubbery. He drew you close whispering, "I brought you here to show you a treasure."

 

 

You gave him an anticipatory look, then open-mouthed and wide eyed stepped forward when he parted the thick vines and shrubbery hiding it's secret. Glowing gold and silver on a bed of soft grass and moss lay a golden doe with a pearly white dragon the same size as Smaug entwined about her form. You looked on for a long moment before realizing by their deep breaths that they were asleep. You gave him an inquisitive look and he regarded you in a manner that reminded you of your first meeting with him, shivering with cold and begging for a warm spot to stay. Him sizing you up...

 

 

"They are the queen's symbols and her eternal companions." He clarified in a quiet voice.

 

 

"The queen's?" You repeated more to yourself than to him.

 

 

"Yes. They will awaken when a new queen is awakened and crowned. Until then they rest in a slumber dreaming of their new mistress."

 

 

He regarded you with an odd look in his eye then, as if he was privy to something you were not. You strongly suspected he was. You looked away, back at the doe and the dragon.

 

 

"You are welcome to return here as often as you like. Just be mindful of its significance." Thranduil replied taking your hand in his. He led you back up the hill to the waterfall, and sat down on the moss and grass. He looked upon the falling waters for quite a long time silently, his gaze not even being drawn to your movements while you seated yourself next to him. You heard a purry shriek on the rocks along the waterfall, and seen Smaug flying over you in the direction of the doe and dragon.

 

 

Something within you began to understand the balance of things - and as you regarded the profile of the king, you noted how fragile, and nearly human he seemed at that moment. He turned to look at you then offering a hint of a smile, taking your hand back in his again. His gaze returned to the falling waters even as he lifted it to his lips and kissed your knuckles.

 

 

It sent a flutter to your stomach and an electric thrill into your blood, yet there was a calmness to it. It wasn't pounding and forceful... it felt for lack of a better word, normal. Like something about it was right.

 

 

He held your hand on his thigh positioned as if trying to catch a butterfly without harming it. You silently watched as a series of different sets of emotions crossed his features, then with a set jaw and haunted, sad look in his eyes he turned to you. "Come. You probably should see the Moon Roses."

 

"Moon Roses?" you repeated in a whisper to his back as you both stood, and he led you up a stair that was beside the waterfall. While you could have sworn it was not there before, it was undoubtedly there now.

 

 

The stones were covered in moss in places and were slippery with water, though the king climbed effortlessly. When you reached the top, breath coming heavily, you could not help looking down. It was a scene! The garden below was a mixture of the tamed and the wild. While where you were now, by a calm stream, even with the waterfall roaring beside you, it felt purely wild and was thick with mystic. As you moved away from the water along stones that could scarcely be seen, you noticed the temperature here soared. It felt like high summer! It even appeared to be with the dragonflies and moths flying past you in a curious dance that made you question if they were really what they really appeared to be, or pixies under a glamour.

 

 

 

After walking silently for a few minutes you followed him to a clearing of soft grass which led into a grove of tall trees. At least you thought they were trees, until you realized that they were covered in white roses. How old must they be to soar to such heights?

 

 

Roses were climbing climbing up others entwining and tangling together, and whether by training, pruning or the sheer power of ther king they did not fall in thorny waves to the ground, yet stayed around them in a natural gazebo and canopy of scent and beauty. you found wooden benches situated in a circle beneath their thick, interwoven canopy as you followed him into the center of their domain which still remained clear and covered in moss and grass.

 

"Wow..." was all you found yourself able to say.

 

Everywhere you looked the showy clusters of petals were about you. All white with hints of pink. Above all else they let off a glow when the moonlight above hit them, and as if spellbound you found yourself being drawn to the a trunk of intertwined wood covered in blooms. Thranduil merely watched from the center saying nothing. You turned and gave him a smile before reaching out to cup your fingertips beneath the petals of particularly beautiful bloom to smell it. You leaped back in pain the next moment when your index finger had apparently brushed on a large thorn, catching your finger. You gaped at the flower for a long stupid moment holding your injured finger away from your ornate dress.

 

 

Blood dripped from the offending thorn, but then all at once ceased and seemed to be absorbed within the stem. You grimaced at your finger when you looked down at it and turned to the king. He was coming to you with a white handkerchief in his hand. He made a face when he took your hand in his and laid the cloth over the bleeding finger.

 

 

"They are old flowers, and know only the whispers of the magic folk now. They have forgotten the softness of touch." He explained, though it merely caused you more confusion. He whispered something as he held your hand, words you could not even begin to understand, and all at once the pain you felt was gone. he pulled the sticky cloth away, and wiped your finger clean of the blood. Your eyes boggled as you looked at it. In the cut's place was a fresh pink scar. he healed you again! You looked up at him in astonishment, embarrassment and gratitude. He seemed unaffected.

 

 

"I believe an apology is in order." he said sternly.

 

 

 

You physically jumped a little, and felt sickness in your stomach. Obviously you should not have touched it! "Oh, of course! I'm very so...."

 

He held a hand up and you immediately snapped your mouth shut.

 

 

"Not from you dearest. From YOU." And with that he turned a menacing look unto the rose that you had attempted to smell. Confused and a bit worried that he had slipped in to one of his "moments", you  watched as he walked over to the rose, and bent down staring hard at it.

 

 

The rose actually closed tightly shut before your eyes for moment, then slowly unfurled itself again. You raised an eyebrow , and your mouth dropped open as he growled, "You know what you should do.", and with that you seen the rose detach itself from its branch and fall into his outstretched palm. When he returned to you and held it out the thorn that had cut you lay there stained just at it's tip with your blood. You looked up at him, and he pushed his outstretched hand to you.

 

 

 

As you hovered over it, the thorn shrank back into the stem and all that was left was a little nub when you picked it up. You glanced at him again while you took the stem between your fingers, you hesitated only a moment before bringing it up and smelling, then speedily smiled at it. It drooped for a moment, then perked back up under your gaze.

 

 

"Do you forgive it?" he asked gruffly.

 

 

"Huh?" Your eyes darted back and forth from the flower to the king . The flower drooped again and began to curl itself up. "Oh, yes, I forgive you."

 

 

 

This felt absurd but deep within felt right at the same time. After all, plants were alive, surely, they had feelings even if they had no physical way to express them.

 

 

The flower slowly uncurled itself into it's full glory, and you smiled at it. You felt at that moment a wave of warmth pass into you when the moonlight hit the rose making it glow in your hand, and gazed at the yellow center of the flower. The glow it emitted filled your entire hand, and on a whim you brought it your lips and lay a gentle kiss on its petals. You returned it to Thranduil's hand and looked up at him. He was smiling, and his eyes seemed to be filled with the glow of the flower as well without even looking at it.

 

 

 

He walked back over and to your amazement raised the stem up to where it detached itself, a glow surrounding the incision, and when he lowered his hands to his sides, then turned to come back to your side the flower was reattached and thriving. You found yourself staring at it before looking at him.  He merely raised an eyebrow at your wonderment, and peered down at your hands with a smirk. When you looked down at your hands you seen that they glowed, but it wasn't just your hands, it was your body as a whole. Slowly it faded, leaving you stunned into silence. You looked up at him with questioning eyes, but no answer came.

 

 

Instead he said, "I do not think these roses will cause you any more harm. They are Moon Roses. The first of their kind and beloved by my people. Ever enchanting, and full of their own magic. They are the flowers of the queen."

 

 

There it was again!

 

 

He nodded and looked up to the sky. You followed his gaze, and seen the enormous shadow of a dragon coming towards you. It had to be larger than a football field - the body that followed was not so spectacular. It was Smaug on the wing,  it made you smile and with it you remembered Thranduil telling you that it was by Smaug's desire alone that he was the size he was. His true size was hidden. As the dragon dove and finally perched on the shoulder of the elvenking you could not help the sly look you gave it. The dragon rubbed it's cheek against Thranduil's, and he in turn, scratched the dragon under the chin as it emitted a throaty purr.

 

 

"All is well with your lady?" he asked it. The dragon merely let out a satisfied grunt and wrapped itself about his neck. His hand found yours once more and he began to lead you back to the stairs by the waterfall, and patiently helped you down it's slippery rocks.

 

 

He continued to holding on to it as he led you back out into the halls of the palace. Once he reached the darker lit hallways with it's deep shadows and fire lit stones his hand tightened around yours. You said nothing, but could see the lift in his shoulders, the tightness in his lips. What was it about the shadows that caused him such ill will? Was there anything you could do to help? Why did it even really matter to you?

 

 

You were human and he an elf... not only an elf - a guardian of the natural order of things. Finally, why had he been so persistent with showing you the queen's effects, and what was it that happened to you in the garden?

 

 

 

He led you back to your room and he even came in after you. the maid who had been faithfully attending to you since your arrival let out a loud gasp, and did a quick curtsy before she resumed her activities. The problem was, you were not sure why she had such a reaction. She surly heard you and he coming.

 

 

"I am glad you have been my companion these past few... days." There was a noticeable pause between the words as he walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down careful of the dragon perched on his shoulders. He peered at you sideways and a smile came to his face. The dragon about his neck nuzzled his cheek.

 

 

You smiled in return, and something fleeted in your mind. Something that caused you anguish but you could not recall what it was. You crossed the room, and gave him a quick nod, "The pleasure has been mine."

 

 

"I was told you found my late wife's chambers today." His facial expression was neutral, his eyes storms.

 

 

You bit your lip, and slowly nodded a confirmation. You were not sure how he would feel about that. "Yes, Legolas let me in."

 

 

He looked at you for a long while with an decipherable expression. "Those chambers have always been reserved for the queen. How did you find it?"

 

 

Your brow creased in confusion. Was this a trick question? Like literally, how did you find it, or what did you think of it? Knowing it was perhaps a little of both, you tactfully answered, "Well, when I happened upon it Legolas was standing outside of it. It was lovely when I was inside."

 

 

"Lovely? That is all?"

 

 

"Well, um," you shifted from one foot to the other as you spoke, "the atmosphere felt somewhat... immense."

 

 

A quirk of the lips was all you seen.

 

 

"She was very beautiful." you commented, and the quirk on his lips turned to a frown.

 

 

"Yes, she was. Perhaps too much so for her own well being. It is a blessing and a curse really..." He looked away, towards the roaring fire, then turned and stared pointedly to a spot outside the door. "Outer beauty has many benefits, but can cause many heartaches and unneeded pain if one abuses it for more than it is worth. Which in the end, is very little."  He glared at the spot, and an odd, wicked grin briefly crossed his lips before softening as he turned towards you. The dragon lifted it's head and hissed towards the spot, letting a spot of flame puff out at it. He scratched the dragon under it's chin to calm it as he continued. "I hope you will never forget that."

 

 

 

Your eyes shifted momentarily to the place outside your door, and then back at him. You folded your hands together in front of you and nodded feeling like a child in that moment. "I won't forget."

 

 

 

"Good. Wisdom, strength, caring and kindness are worth more than all the apparent youth and beauty in the world, but something tells me you already know that." His eyes flickered to an old scar at the side of your face. You kept it carefully hidden with your hair, and your maid obliged this as well when she styled it. He, ever observant, noticed it regardless... of course. "Now, you look very tired, and the dawn will break in a few hours. Faerie time will be over, so I must call the people to their shadows and mist, else the veil of worlds not hide them."

 

 

 

He stood and came beside you. To your surprise he bent down and kissed your cheek. A genuine, happy smile came to his face when he seen your reaction. A flutter once again settled in your stomach, a hint of a blush on your cheeks as you found yourself smiling and laying a hand over the spot. "You may go to the gardens, the queen's chambers, and all else you wish. I would honestly be interested in how you would furnish the queen's chambers."

 

 

He snickered when he seen your bug-eyed look, then turned on his heel and left, leaving you staring incredibly after him and the red dragon draped about his shoulders.

 

 

Where was this leading?

 

 

 

You dared not let your mind wander further than that, though it teased you with a notion. It was ridiculous. The notion that he planned to make you his queen. You dared not let the question truly surface. You did not think it possible.

 

 

 

Then something once again hit your emotions, and you became aware once more that you were forgetting something important, yet you were not sure what it could be. Whatever it was, you were certain that the elvenking was responsible somehow for making you forget it. You did not know why you held that suspicion, but you could not rid yourself of it.

 

 

 

As your maid readied you for bed your went over everything in your mind. You had seen over the last couple of days (or was it actually years - even that point was foggy) turn from a distinguished, old-school gentleman, to a ferocious almost beast-like creature. Something in the shadows bothered him - perhaps even stalked him, and you had become worried that whatever it could be was beginning to turn its malice towards you.

 

 

 

The shadows had started feeling heavier over the last couple of nights, and at times when the king was near and one of his "moments" came over him, a deep, penetrating chill seemed to come from one corner of the room. You had never been afraid of the dark or worried about monsters under your bed. So, why would your imagination betray you now?

 

 

 

After the maid took off, and put away your garments and jewels from the banquet then helped you pull a cotton nightgown over your head, you chanced a look in the long mirror and stumbled back a pace.

 

 

You were looking at yourself, but it was not the YOU that you remembered. It was your face, your body, your hair, eyes, ears and body build, but it looked all together different. You stepped right up to the mirror and ran your hands down your cheeks. You glowed in the night like an elf. Your face and body, though the same were unexceptionably different. Something bloomed wide in your heart at that moment. You were not what you once were....

 

 

You looked at the elf maid behind you watching, and you realized.... You were becoming one of THEM.

 

 

 

The knowledge of this somehow did not frighten you. It seemed right somehow. Or was that how the king wanted you to feel about it?

 

 

You turned from your reflection, and went to the bed, got in and covered up. As the maid put out the candles and lamps you closed your eyes.

 

 

As you lay there you thought you heard a melody on the wind. A call almost that the king himself heralded, his voice singing out a question, and the chorus of voices that answered back grew. For whatever reason you found yourself whispering at the rising dawn to the repeated call he made, "I am here. I am safe. I will sleep until the moonlight awake..."

 

 

With this you closed your eyes, and fell into your dreams.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having a dream, you remember what you had forgotten and run to the king for release. Which he provides in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is one of the chapters that earns this story its "explicit" rating. ^_~

YOU were dreaming. Of that, you were well aware. Yet it felt like remnants of an old life. You seen your mother laying in a bed, white as snow from outside her doorway. Your sisters were gathered around her and you kept hearing her whispering something. You came into the room and stood at the foot of the bed.

 

 

"Y/N..." you heard with the faintest whisper. "Where is Y/N?"

 

 

"I am here mother..." you answered, but she did not seem to hear you, and kept repeating it over and over. You looked about you, and realized they could not see you.

 

Finally one of your sisters took her hand. "I'm sorry mom... she didn't come yet."

 

You heard your mother take in a shattering breath.

 

"MOM!" you shouted. You knew that sound. Death rattles...

 

 

Her eyes glazed over for a moment, and a smile came to her face and her face lit up in joy as if she could see you, and she began said in a sweet voice, "There she is... my baby... my sweet baby. But she's an angel. An angel."

 

 

Your mother's eyes closed, and you sat at the foot of her bed. She was sleeping now - the mortal sleep before she would draw her last breath. It would not be long now.

 

"You would think the little bitch could show up at her mother's deathbed!" Your sister spat out, her blond ponytail shaking as she stood and went to the window looking out.

 

The other sighed, "Maybe she got caught in the snow storm Olivia."

 

 

"Yeah right. You know how she is. Always just grabs and grabs. Hardly giving anything back. Thinking her little cakes and smiles of reassurance make up for all that shit she caused when she was younger."

 

"Olivia!" your red-haired sister Allison exclaimed in an attempt to reprimand her.

 

"She almost killed us that night, and did she say or show any remorse? Hell no! She only got more reckless! So, don't make excuses for her. If she cared so much for our mother she would have been here. Where was she while mom was spitting up blood and falling on the floor crying, and begging us to kill her?! Where was she when she had to go to chemo or take injections, or shitting herself because she couldn't hold her bowels anymore?! Not here! But I was... and so were you. So, just shut up!" Olivia expressed with disgust and venom, her voice rising in pitch before she ended it. Olivia closed her eyes tight, and shook her head going back to the window.

 

 

You however, were in tears. Where were you? Where had you been since you turned nineteen? Two states away because you couldn't handle the constant pressure and hassle anymore. You Had done so many things....

 

 

You could have...

 

 

You should have done better. You should have been there.

 

 

You cried out in a choking sob, when you seen your mother take one long rattling breath and let it out, then her head went slack, and she breathed no more.

 

 

You knew it... she had passed.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Your eyes opened, tears overflowing from them. Everything flooded back to you at once and shimmering fog over your memory which had began after your third day ended. The call from Allison about your mother. The car stopping in the snow, all the human elements of your memories returned.

 

 

You sat up, flinging the covers from your body and ran to the door, down the hall straight to the king's rooms. He had been laying down, and at your entrance sat straight up in alarm, and swung his legs out of the bed ready to pounce on whatever danger you were perceiving to be there. His loosely laced tunic fell off a shoulder as he reached for a dagger on the side of his bed, and the skin tight leggings showed the tense, powerful muscles he kept covered usually with his long robes.

 

You flung yourself to his knees in tears, and lay your head in his lap. You did not look at him, but felt him reach to put the dagger back on the stand beside him, then felt his hands on your head, fingers brushing through your hair. Slowly some of the distress left you, and you looked up at him. You mused that you must appear like a child to him at times... especially now.

 

"Please... please let me go! Please!"

 

His brow furrowed in incomprehension for a second, then what you were asking seemed to dawn on him. "Of course... I promised I would. but why the tears? Why your distress?" he questioned , his hands coming to rest on your cheeks, before one moved to brush back a group of stray locks from your wet eyes.

 

"She's dead! Oh! She's dead!" Your agony fell over you again, and your buried your head back in his lap.

 

 

"No... she is not. I promised that I would let you go in time to see your mother, did I not?" he cooed at you from above as he once again began stroking your hair.

 

 

You nodded without looking up. "But I had a dream... She died, and I wasn't even there to say good-bye. She was calling for me, and I didn't come! I've been such a horrible daughter, and all she wanted was to see me..." You lost yourself at that point.

 

 

He let you go on for a few more moments, merely petting your hair, then put his fingers under your chin to lift your face to look at him.

 

 

What a sight you had to be at that moment, crumbled at his feet wreathed in tears and guilt!

 

 

But his face, his eyes, remained kind and understanding. They even seemed to brim with a chance of tears of his own. "I know this pain my dear. More than you ever can realize. But I promise you, it was merely a dream."

 

 

You took in several more gasping breaths, and felt yourself calming as you peered into his eyes.

 

"I vowed I would let you go before she died, and I will. I would never cause you the pain of not being able to go... But can you not understand that you are a comfort to me as well? And it is why I delay the matter? Forgive me for sounding selfish, but I know full well the game called grief and guilt. I know it very well. All of the 'should have', 'could have', 'would have' involved. I know the feeling of not being able to say good-bye. The feeling of not coming just in time... and I vow to you it will not pass for you..." He began to stroke your hair again. "I was just a horrible, terribly real dream. Nothing more."

 

 

"Your wife... you could not save her?"

 

He shook his head. "And I never could say good-bye. I know this pain. I know where it can lead... I know..."

 

 

You stood then, a golden thread seeming to tie you to him in that moment, and lost in it, emotions high, his eyes shining like stars, his hands resting on your hips as you stood before him... Before you thought about it too much, you bent down and kissed his lips. He allowed you to take the immediate pleasure of his bottom lip before he pulled you against him, deepening the kiss and licked at your lips with the tip of his tongue demanding it to part, which you allowed, and he plunged in without mercy.

 

Your arms went about his shoulders, your legs bending and parting and finding purchase at the sides of his hips on the bed, encouraged all the more by his hands pulling your skirt up, and his arms pulling you closer and maneuvering your legs finally around his waist leaving you seated on his lap.

 

 

He broke the kiss and trailed his lips along your chin and throat, finding new ground at your collarbone and shoulders. His hands moved then, one to cup a cheek of your buttocks, the other to liberate more skin for him to taste at your shoulders.

 

Your own hands had strayed to his chest, and dared to slip beneath the loose tunic and lacings. They met with silky skin, and a purry groan when you graced your fingertips over a hardened nub. His hips rocked up and not given underwear and the thin material which covered his own privates you were able to clearly feel delicious hardness rubbing against you.

 

 

His hands had ventured to your breasts, which he bared in a matter of seconds, and he ravished each tender pap with ferocity, licking and sucking, even grazing his teeth along their sensitive flesh. His hands had returned to your bare bottom, and massaged each cheek while pushing you more and more against the hardness between your legs. His thumbs managed to graze the skin in such a way that sent electric thrills all through you. Grief and guilt long lost being replaced with desire and aching need. Each being brought forth to an anticipatory gesture that thrilled you when he finally dipped his hand between your legs.

 

 

You quickly became frustrated with your limited ability to touch him through the lacings of his tunic and you reached down to the hem of his tunic and pushed your hands beneath it. His response was to quickly release your ass for half a moment, and practically rip his shirt off in his haste to remove the garment. He claimed your lips again, and pulled you crushingly close by your bottom and an arm about your waist, and you felt yourself being pushed and pulled around to lay on the bed, He lowered you down gently then settled himself on top of you between your shaking legs. He broke the kiss sucking hard on your lower lip for a moment longer, then laid his forehead on yours as you both gasped for air. His eyes were closed for long moment, then opened and he smiled at you then tenderly peppered your cheeks and throat with kisses. The hand that had been on your bottom moved to pull down the fabric that had been bunched up about your waist, and you managed to help him shimmy and kick it off the rest of the wat. You felt his hand glide up your thigh and between your legs once more.

 

 

He found your sweet spot with ease and flecked and rubbed it with expert fingers, before sliding further back between your folds. He rubbed his fingers just outside your entrance teasing them into opening more to him and then plunged four long fingers deep within, and began to move his hand in and out. He continued until you were clutching at him wildly, verbally begging him to take you even after his hand forced you to orgasm hard and fully already several times in succession.

 

 

Finally, he took mercy on you, or perhaps could stand it no longer, and he sat up gazing at you with a dark, lust-filled eyes for a long moment, his hands stopping their magic and going to the hem of his leggings. He undid the clasps and both of you pushed the fabric apart letting his member come free and large in front of you. He maneuvered himself back down on top of you after pushing the fabric off his hips and legs. His mouth was at your earlobes, and the sides of your neck then, one hand on your breast, the mother between your legs rubbing the tip of his sex against your entrance.

 

He pulled himself up on his elbows after several agonizing, wonderful minutes, commenting about how wet you were, before you felt him push himself inside deep as he could go filling you completely. Both of your eyes closed as your welcoming muscles tightened around him soothing the ache to be united. He began pumping his hips in a slow penetrating thrusts, then as the pleasure mounted as you matched his rhythm the pace quickened before finally the pleasure of it took you over the edge swimming in bliss. You heard him moan, and felt the surge of warmth fill you when he came an instant after yourself, yet he was so caught up in the sweet pleasure of it that he continued to thrust even after both of you focused on the other again, and only stopped when your writhing body was spent and limp beneath his.

 

He fell out of you still gasping for air and climbed off of you laying beside you on the bed, and grabbed for your hot, wet body pulling you close to him. As your heartbeat fell into a normal pace once more, and you laid your head on his chest, wrapping a leg about his own, and feeling his arm encircling you, a kiss brushing on your forehead, it only then dawned upon you what had just transpired.

 

You slept with him. As your eyes began to shut and sleep overtake you again you were forced to briefly wonder would he truly be willing to let you go now? More to the point, as you felt a sting in your heart at the idea, did you really want to now? Your mother was dying... or was gone already... Of course you had to go.

 

If you did leave, would you, or could you come back? After all this, knowing he must have weaved some kind of enchantment over you to forget why you were brought here and had to leave in the first place, did you want to? If you left, would he allow you to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, btw for any errors or spelling/grammar mistakes. I'm posting these directly from the rough draft. So, please forgive any errors. Hope you enjoyed this!


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thranduil ponders what he must do, and makes it right.

HE watched you while you slept even as the dawn streamed through the windows spilling pink and golden light on both of you. He made a vow, and he intended to keep it. He squeezed you tight. Did you really know the truth of how much time you has *really* spent at his court?

 

He, himself would have to See. He knew he has to reorder things which had he turned you out once you had awakened the next day you were there, he would may not have to do. But he had to give you time to make it...

 

His heart ached at the thought of you going. In fact, the idea made him physically ill. Yet he knew he could no longer use trickery to keep you there any longer. If too much more time passed the magic it would cost him to set it right would tax him into a sleep for centuries at a time.

 

He slid his arm out from under you, say up gingerly to avoid waking you, quietly slid from beneath the blankets and grabbed for a robe to put about himself. It had fallen to the floor from it's usual place at the foot of the bed due to the prior hours pleasure making.

 

As he tied it around himself he turned his gaze to your sleeping form longingly.  He wished nothing more than to find a way to push the memories away so you would never leave. But he could not - he was the guardian of this realm. More was at stake and under his care than his own feelings and desires.

 

The forest's time and space, it's actual natural order were in his charge, and he had to be subject to them as well as his as those he guarded.

 

He did not hesitate as he normally did when he turned and exited  - he knew what awaited him outside his door. She had been chased out by the sheer power of light that emitted from your union with him. He had little care for her sarcasm and belligerence. The seething cold eyes of the creature who once was his wife met his.

 

He held a hand up with a look of warning, just as predatory and cold. He made his way through the hallways to the gardens. The phantom followed him only to the doorway of it's sunlit paths. It held too much light, and too much golden power for her to bear it.

 

"What is it you intend to do my liege?" She asked to his back melting into a shadow nearby.

 

"What I must", was his curt reply as he continued inside without looking back.

 

He made his way to the stairs that led to the Moon Roses above. He stopped when he reached them, his gaze drawn upward and a sigh came from his lips. The weight on his heart grew, for he knew it was not a mere dream you had seen, but the echoes of memory through time itself trying to right what he had, again, done wrong.

 

As he climbed, he contemplated it. Perhaps it best, for he could not bear to keep you there via deception forever. Besides, when you received your crown, if you choose to accept it, your mind would have been reawakened to them again. No, you had to be willing to leave all human ties behind you, and as long as you held on to something in the mortal world, you could never truly be his queen and consort.

 

You had been chosen by whatever fates to either make or break him. Even he could not fight that.

 

When he finally reached the path that led to the bent arches of the magical flowers his pace dwindled. After some time he reached the flowers. When he approached he put a finger to his mouth to hush them as they all began to uncurl their sleeping blooms. He came to the one that had pricked you, and fished out a crystal vial, (something he had kept on his person by habit at all times), and held it under the sole awakened flower. He whispered an incantation.

 

Once the last word caught the wind, the blood it had drawn seeped out, draining into the bottle. He reached out and cradled the bloom in his palm as you had done, and bent down kissing it's cool leathery petals.  It curled up about itself for a moment then opened wide in response as if blushing and flattered.

 

"Go back to sleep..." He whispered to it, and with one a second of hesitation it recurled it's petals tightly going back into it's slumber.

He capped the vial and put it on his pocket, and began his journey back to his palace walls.

 

He was met by his usual shadow companion, who merely followed silently. Somehow her silence was more unnerving than her abuse. He knew at some point she would unleash something horrible in her fury.

 

She had witnessed his voluntary love-making to you. Heard the words that fell from his lips.

 

 

 

Yes, guilt caused you to do many things you would regret, as did love. Love… a poison and an antidote in one.

 

What was going to happen when he let you go? Would the darkness his wife held over him drive him finally to the brink? Would you come back? Centuries he had waited for one such as you to find your way to him. Why did it seem it was all for folly now?

 

His path led him to the deep places in the earth. A world where all powerful magic was born and had to be made. She followed him past the threshold, and into the room where his magic was cast, which surprised him.

 

He went to his table watching her. She remained silent, guarded, carefully avoiding the covered mirrors and the rune on the floor. Yes, she knew what they could do if he caught her for even a split second unaware here.

 

A familiar smirk came to her mouth as he poured the water from the pitcher which had been gathered from rainfall above into a basin. He exchanged a dark, cold look with her before retrieving the vial from his pocket, opening it, and letting a single drop of your blood slip into the depths of the still water.

 

He waved his hands over it as his eyes closed while he looked within himself. He felt the pull of power, the tingling under his fingertips, and opened his eyes to gaze into its depths. Not days had passed, but years since you had come. That in itself did not shock him, for he knew it.

 

He focused on the time and where you were to be… The images settled on 2 women who he knew to be your sisters, now elderly. His gaze shifted to a set of gravestones that had long been unattended. One read a man’s name, two held the names of women. The one he knew to be your mother by instinct. The other, which made him draw up straight was yours. They thought you dead…and best it would be if time would have allowed it. He knew it had to be fixed. It could not be written like this… at least in this way. He knew why he had to let you go, and it was due to more than his promise.

 

If you were to be a queen, you had to do it of your own will, and without his bewitching spells. That power was at your fingertips now, but first all that was ill had to be made right before his own circumstance could be truly addressed - if it ever would.

 

 

He would reorder time… He would provide the escape, and if it was the will of the High One, you would return and all that he made wrong could finally be made right.

 

He took from his pinky finger a simple ring with a single gem and dropped it in the water. He took out the vial and poured the rest of it’s contents into the water. He lifted the knife sitting beside the basin and drew it’s sharp edge across his palm with a grunt of pain, then squeezed the drops flowing from the wound into the basin. Instinctively knowing the right amount of the crimson liquid was now mixed within, he quickly tore a piece of cloth from his tunic and wrapped it. He turned around to his shelves and plucked a few bottles off the shelf and put a drop of each within. Then after recorking the vials and placing them on the table, he put his hands on either side of the basin and gently mixed it with a swirling motion. He began to recite his spell and shortly after the words began to fall from his lips smoke began to rise from the water. A golden light engulfed him and the basin, and upon reaching the last of his words, he ended it. The smoke and light dissipated, and when his eyes opened, he seen the golden ring laying at the bottom of clear water.

 

He drew a shaky breath, and with a trembling hand took the ring from the center where it lay. He placed the ring delicately on the table, then took the basin and poured the water out speaking a blessing over it and the basin as he did in a nearby natural drain.

 

Taking the ring in his palm after he set the basin down in it’s place he looked up at the incandescent form who cowered in the shadows. There was a roar of a storm in his ears still from the power that had been used.

 

“So, this is your answer? You would do for her what you would not do for me? It would have been better than the sin you committed.

 

“We all learn from our mistakes,” he approached her then, and held her gaze, disgusting to him as it was now, “Even me. And I know now not to try and bend the rules of the what is and what is not more than ever now.”

 

“You still could have…”

 

“I could not have! You know very well why.”

 

She snickered, “You are a failure of a guardian! Just as you were a failure as a husband!”

 

His eyes grew wide, and his expression dangerous, and his hand automatically came up to grasp her throat. It merely made her laugh. With a growl he released her, and with a flourish of his robe he quickly made his way to the stairs and up. She followed him laughing and mocking. However, his ears became deaf to it as the roar from the power he expended settled in his head, the anger making it even louder.

 

He need to rest now. Even for one such as he what he had done took a great deal out of him. He would not wipe away your memories of the time you spent with him, time itself would do that if that was what fate determined, but nor could he allow you to suffer when he could make it right. This expense of energy would be worth it even if you did not return, and came to learn of what he had done to you. It would be worth it to know it was set right.

 

That was what he told himself to try and avoid the heaviness that threatened to engulf his heart.

 

When you slept, when you dined, when you spent your day there, a year or more would pass. How could you know…? He had done what he could to make it right. He did his best to remain methodical, and calculating about it. The problem was that he was emotionally involved now whether by his choice or not.

 

He finally returned to his room, and went within, glancing over his shoulder at the remnant of his wife. She followed, but quickly retreated to the darkest corner of the room. Her eyes were pools of hate and jealousy as she looked over at you.

 

“Tell me why…” she hissed at him.

 

“Because it was what was meant to be… just as you were what was not. I will not reorder fate a second time.”

 

He slipped off the robe, and climbed in beneath the blankets. Cuddling in and taking comfort in your warmth and scent as you instinctively wound yourself around him once more.

 

He gathered you as close as he could, and leaned down with a touch of kink in his neck to place a kiss on your forehead. He whispered, “Because I love her…”

 

The response from across the room was a high pitched wail.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thranduil lets you go.

HE had fallen asleep and was only vaguely aware of it when he felt your stirring and pulling yourself away from him slightly, while leaving your body close, your forehead still on his neck.

 

Light poured in, but from the dusk. It was time. With that knowledge he jolted awake. His body ached from the earlier loss of power, yet seeing the lights in your eyes forced it to the back of his mind. His body was wanting to respond to the sight of you and the feel of you in a completely different way, but his mind remained troubled…

 

How could he release you without making you feel used or unwanted? Many of his kind considered their human lovers trifles to be cast aside without feeling or consideration… But you were more. How could he make sure you did not feel it had been a mistake?

 

He was well aware that the queen’s crown should now go to you… if not for the fates that brought you, but now by the sheer desire of his heart. He had said it aloud… there was no turning back.

 

He lifted your chin up and kiss you tenderly then lay a soft kiss on your forehead. He drew you against him in a squeeze as you laid your head back on his chest.

 

“How can I bear to do what I must now?” he whispered in your hair. He felt you tense then move to look up. As he stared into your eyes he became keenly aware of his heart that was just recently mended beginning to break again.

 

“I know I must keep my vow, but the heavens and stars know if I could find a way… I would not.”

 

You raised your hand up and caressed his cheek. He leaned into it savoring the warmth of it, and brushed his lips over your fingertips before looking back at you.

 

“You understand I believe, more than anyone, why I must. Though I…” He watched as you bit your lip clearly disturbed and in thought. “Yes?”

 

You shook your head. “Some things should probably be left unsaid.”

 

He could not help the disappointment cross his features, and tried to retrain them into a mask of neutrality. He had hoped it would be a confession. A way to know your release would eventually lead you back.

 

 

He gave you a weak smile, then pulled away, slipping out of the bed to retrieve the robe, and with it the ring. He pulled the golden ring out and palmed it, returning to you and holding it out to you. He seen your eyes glisten at the sight of it.

 

“It is for you. It will lead you to where and when you need to be.” He took your hand, turned it over and dropped the ring in it. “And if you wish to find your way back to me…” He held your eyes silently doing something he never did - pleading, “it will provide a path.”

 

He watched as you closed and opened your hand, then put the ring on your index finger. “I may return then…?” He seen the bewilderment in your eyes. “I may come back to you?”

 

He merely nodded. He turned away, unable to hold your eyes anymore, wishing that there was genuine desire there to return. He did his best to keep his mask of neutrality in check. He turned and stood, going to the rope that would ring a bell for a servant. He glanced at you out of the corner of his eye, and let out a long, hard sigh and pulled on it.

 

A servant appeared moments later. “Bring her the clothes she wore when she arrived, and have Legolas saddle Enchantment to lead her through the wood.” He turned back to your questioning, misty eyes, “She is one of the royal steeds. She is the most gentle of the lot. She will be best to lead you to where you need to go… and if you wish for a way back she will come.”

 

He returned to your side and just gazed at you trying to memorize every part of you. He seen you look down at the ring as a tear slid down your cheek. He brought his thumb up and wiped it away.

 

“Why do you weep? Is this not what you wanted?” He tilted your chin up and was met with your tears, “To be free?”

 

He watched you merely return the question with a somber bob of the head, and look away. He cleared his throat, and took you by the shoulders, turning you back to him. Somehow this was harder than letting go of his beloved wife. You were living, breathing - healthy and kind at heart, and weeping at the thought of leaving. Things his wife were not, and never did.

 

He glanced over at the dark corner she occupied, seemingly to swell with delight at seeing the pain both of you were experiencing.

 

“Listen carefully,” His words caught in his throat when he turned back seen your eyes again; he had to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat before he continued, “To return to your realm and the time period you need, turn the ring thrice to the right.”

 

You nodded and looked down. He was close to breaking - close to telling you that you could not leave him. If only you would stop looking at him like that - like that was what you wanted him to say…

 

Desperately, he took a breath, and laid both hands on either side of your face, cradling your face gently, “To come back you only have to turn the ring thrice to the left. A way will be opened…” His voice had risen, needy and desperate.

 

You nodded again. “I understand.”

 

The maid came in with your ‘strange, human clothes’, and lay them on the bed, leaving at the wave of dismissal that Thranduil gave her.

 

In one last note of memory he pulled you against him, peppering your neck and cheeks with kisses before pulling away, and saying what he must, “Now get dressed and go. Do not look back.”

 

He turned away from you, grabbing at the robe he had left disregarded by his bed, pulled it about himself, and got up and studiously looked out the window.

 

It was only a few minutes later when he heard you whisper, “Goodbye.” It was followed by the soft footfalls you made down the hall. His only memory now of you that he could still hold was the soft scent of florals in the air.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You trek through the woods deep in thought as a spell weaves it's way around you. When time has stopped and began again, you find yourself confronted with a foe you least expected. How will you survive?

WHY did it hurt so much? It had only been a week. You couldn’t be… in love. No… it didn’t happen that way. Why did he keep talking about time?

 

Your tears refused to stop flowing, and more than once your stride faltered and you almost turned around.

 

You were met by Legolas who solemnly looked you over, and led you to the outside stables. He brought out of a stall a saddled beautiful golden mare. He helped boost you on her, and stayed it while he handed you the reins, followed by a midnight blue cloak. It was cold, but not like it had been. Almost like the beginning of a new winter frost. For some reason this did not strike you as odd… and you did not even look about you even when following Legolas to the stables, so wrapped up in your thoughts and emotions as you were.

 

“You will need this for the air will turn very chilled, very suddenly. You should not have another episode mimicking what brought you to these gates.”

 

You offered a weak smile, and unrolled the garment pulling it about yourself. He held your gaze at that.

 

“I will not weave a spell to make it so, but I will make a request. If he has given you the means to return to him, please do so. I beg of you. I fear what will become of him should you not. To be truthful I fear for both of you. An unseen malice haunts him, and I feel it will turn to you as well. Take the road back if you can…” He took your hand and squeezed it, “You belong here… with him.”

 

Even through your misty eyes and clouded mind those words seemed haunting and odd, but overwhelmingly true. Yet you were a human, and he was an elf - did you really have someone to come back to?

 

 

“please do not delay more than a month. I know my father, and I dare say, I know you as well. Now go! Weave the spell he has given and ride, else it’s power diminish!”

 

You released the breath you had been holding unknowingly, and looked down at the ring. You hesitated for only a moment before turning it three times to the right.

 

You felt, more than seen something odd and powerful happening with you at it’s center. You could not explain it, but it felt as if a gong had been sounded and the vibrations were still working through the air.

 

Legolas went to the horse’s bridle and leaned in to the horse saying, “Enchantment take her where she is to be. Take her with all due speed!”

 

The horse took off in a run which caused you to hang on for dear life. You’d never ridden a horse before, and the swaying made you feel as if you would fall off. You instinctively hugged your legs into it’s sides and bent down wide eyed. The horse must have sensed your unease and slowed to a trot, then a walk.

 

“Sorry Enchantment. I’ve never ridden a horse before.” You told her grateful for her change in pace, but quickly turning somber. The horse merely neighed, as if assuring you it was alright, and continued.

 

Your mind raced a mile a minute, and you were only vaguely aware that things in the forest felt odd, and looked different, as if things were swiftly reversing itself. Snow was becoming thinner then thicker, until finally it slowed down with it’s weird ascending and receding, and stayed thick and falling, just as it was on the night you found Thranduil’s halls.

 

You pulled the cloak about you tighter and it kept you warmer than you expected, the hood also cutting the wind from your face. It seemed like hours, but finally you seen what looked like a thinning of the trees, which meant the edge of the wood was nigh. As you looked forward, you realized a blizzard was whipping about the open spaces, claiming the exposed thinning trees and ground.

 

It began to hit you, and you almost wanted to stagger further back into the forest remain in the protection of the king’s trees.

 

You peered down at the ring and it’s single jewel, biting your lip. Your heart fell into a silent despair then. How do you know if he really meant for you to return? Why did he act the way he did? Why did leaving him and being here where you knew your stint with a fairy tale probably ended hurt so much? You had only been with him for merely a week. Correct?

 

As the wind cut through any exposed skin you had, you reached into your pockets and pulled out your gloves with a sigh.

 

You did not ask the more logical questions as to why the weather was the way it was. Why the horse knew how to the to the edge of a wood in the direction you needed to go. Why your horse… as you looked down at the side, was equipped with a sword.

 

You did not question it until you heard the howls behind you, and out of the corner of your eye saw a black shadow streak by.

 

By the time the pack started coming out of the shadows growling and ready to pounce your senses were kicking in far too late.

 

Enchantment backed away, then reared up forcing you to clutch on to her for dear life. She kicked out, and spun as they circled and finally tried to pounce.

 

So this was the way it would end? Down the throats of wolves?

 

You pulled the sword out momentarily hindered by it’s weight, and swung at the nearest predator.

 

You were ready to fight and die… at the moment. They were pouncing in three’s and fours then, even as the horse and your meager strength somehow fended them off. But they regrouped each time, and with each time they got stronger, and both you and Enchantment got weaker. They knew it. They sensed it, and with that became bolder.

 

Finally, you stared down the eyes of a large black male, you resigned yourself and flung the sword down to the ground exhausted. The wolf dipped down into a pounce, and you closed your eyes… ready to be flung from the horse who was desperately trying to protect herself and you.

 

You opened your eyes when you heard something whiz out in front of you and looked down to see an arrow embedded deep in the earth just in front of the animal. The pack turned, then shrank back into a submissive stance.

 

You looked up in the direction they were focused on, and almost cried out in joy and relief. Thranduil was there… astride the white stag, a bow readied with an arrow pointed right at the black wolf.

 

As the wolf hunkered down, and whimpered he lowered his arrow and focused on the wolf shaking his head. The wolf let out a series of growls and whines.

 

“No, she is mine. You know you may take whatever you wish in the forest, but what is mine, and what is sacred. Look at her, and see who she is to become.”

 

The pack looked at you as a collective whole, then bowed their heads even deeper. You raised your eyebrows at this.

 

The pack turned back to the king, and another series of growls and whimpers and whines passed. The king sighed, then looked shocked when you heard the horse neigh, and let out a huff, stamping her feet.

 

A shocked, pained look came to his face. “Are you sure?”

 

The horse neighed again and it was like sadness mixed with resolve broke her proud stance.

 

The pack whined and growled at the horse, which when you looked down at her she closed her eyes. You looked at Thranduil whose mouth was open and tears were brimming in his eyes.

 

“As you wish. Your sacrifice will be forever renowned.”

 

He turned his attention to you, and held his hand out. “Come -yourname-.”

 

You looked from him to the wolves and back at him again.

 

“They will not hunt you ever again.” The king outstretched his arm even more. “You need to get off of your mount.”

 

Realization of the situation struck you, and you swallowed hard. With a rigid posture and slow movements, you dismounted. You patted the horse’s side, and nodded. It merely swung it’s head to the king clearly telling you to go.

 

You turned your eyes on the wolves as you crossed to the king king in front of them. They kept themselves hunkered down low to the ground submissively, not even looking at you. When you reached Thranduil he hauled you up quite effortlessly in front of him unto the stag, and reigned him about. He went several feet away, then stopped and turned.

 

 

The pack was rising up, no longer low to the ground, but was in a circle around Enchantment. You closed your eyes, and opened to them only to see Enchantment lay down in front of them, and had to bite down on your cry when you seen the black wolf let out a simple growl before going for the kill.

 

You felt Thranduil’s arm tighten around you, then he spurred the stag around and on. You relished in the feel of it despite your forefront knowledge of what had just been done for the sake of your life. It felt as if you had been given a last chance to imprint his touch, his scent, his face within you.

 

Finally, he stopped at the edge of the forest overlooking an ancient farmhouse. You could barely make out the outline through the thick snowfall.

 

“I can take you no further. They will help you find a way to your family.”

 

You twisted around as much as you could to turn back and look at him. “I will see you again?”

 

He nuzzled his cheek on yours and along your forehead, then lay a kiss on it. “If it is your wish. If you remember how.”

 

At this he helped you dismount, then looked towards the farmhouse ahead.

 

“Keep your cloak about you, and I pray you do return. Now do not delay anymore, else I pick you up and steal you away forever!”

 

The exclamation made your heart leap, but still you just stared at him like it would be the last time... yet you kept chanting in your head, “Thrice to the left…”

 

You nodded and quietly remarked, “Until I see you again…”

 

You turned and began to walk forward, but stopped and began to turn back to look at him.

 

“No, do not look back else the spell be broken. Do not look back until you reach the house.” he called out behind you his voice strained.

 

You sucked in a breath and trudged onward, tears beginning to want to form again. Finally, the sting of the icy snow hit you, and you drew your cloak about you as tight as possible. You knew it was only a few minutes, but it felt like a long, chilly, heartbreaking chore before you reached the farmhouse.

 

It was the back door, and the light in the window promised they were up, and heat was within. Yet you could not help yourself from finding yourself turning and looking back at the vague outline of the woods. You prayed he was there, but through the coiling snow about you, there was no way you could see him.

 

When you turned back to the door you finally felt how chilled you were, and the snow hitting your skin like a million tiny knives.

 

You raised a hand, and knocked as loud and desperately as you could.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thranduil contemplates the past as he watches you leave. When he returns his queen takes her revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: **This chapter contains rape.** While there are hints to things to come and hints at explanations, if rape is a problem for you, I will understand if you skip it. This will be the only chapter that contains non-con. While you may not understand the purpose of this being included in this story, there is a reason. (I do not put rape in a story without a reason.) The reason is explained in the chapter, however brief it is.

HE watched you leave with an ever heavy heart. He even spurred the poor stag out into the open for a bit to be sure you would not falter in the snow, or even against all odds, turn around. While the cold was not the issue for either of them, the snow and wind itself was problematic for visibility and stability.

 

He kept hoping you would turn, even slightly, then by the powers that held both of you now he had the right to take you away and keep you.

 

Enchantment sacrificed herself to the pack. Even he had not seen that when he wound the paths of the forest. He knew he had deemed the pack survive for many years on, he knew Enchantment would die soon, but he had not foretold that fate would take it in such a twist. There was another force at work then… the one that bound even him by it’s laws, and what punished those that bent them too far.

 

He watched through the thick falling snow, even as the wind whipped his hair about his face and neck, as you turned and looked for him finally in vain. Your human eyes could not see through this thick storm, and he had to use glamour to blend in else the other humans may see him. You turned back and knocked. After a few moments the door opened. He seen the woman make the sign of the cross, there was some hesitation and discussion then you disappeared inside. He stayed in that spot rooted for a time staring at it.

 

Heavy anguish settled in. The darkness of his own forest encroached on his mind. It was his heart breaking once again. You were human after all… how could you remember to come home unless the High One made it come to pass? After all that he had done, why would He?

 

Why should the way out be provided without pain being experienced after what he had brought upon himself and his people all because he could not bear the burden of his own heart?

 

Here he was, once again, broken, guilty, head and heart full of dark thoughts and pain beyond imagining. You were all that held promise for him… and there was even a small hope within him, even if it was a foolish one.

 

He turned his spur back to the wood, and made his way home. Stopping briefly to retrieve the saddle and bridle from the carcass of the sacrificed animal.

 

Much had been given for your sake. But more given back to him in your arrival… life had joy and meaning beyond duty. The shadows could not reach so far. Even his forest, long dark and sickly healed during your time there. That was how he knew who you were… What you were meant to be. He just did not expect his own heart to be moved so much.

 

 

As he reached his gates, and seen his son on the horizon, he went over the events that led to such pain, and winced at the memory. Once across the bridge, he dismounted in front of Legolas and few other guards who awaited him. Time for him was where it was before he turned it back for you. Your realm and his forever separated by a veil few could cross.

 

As he dismounted, and exchanged words with his son about your safe arrival, and the passing of Enchantment he felt the shadows becoming larger, heavier, stronger. His son even looked about him alarmed, but said nothing. He watched his beloved child walk away to lead the stables so that he may take the saddles and bridles to their places, and let the stag free to roam again.

 

His son was always his greatest treasure, his wife his greatest love. Vanity was her biggest weakness, and in the end it was what killed her. It took your arrival to help him realize that. He did not get to her in time because her heart had turned ill, and the powers that be needed to remedy that else the seasons themselves be influenced.

 

The ‘should have, could have, would have’… The lake of guilt and grief, loneliness itself… not love that bound him to a terrible consequence which he had mistaken for love. He had loved her more than anything, even life itself before her heart turned, and when it turned she pushed him aside, and with that his own heart closed off. Her warmth was no longer comforting, but scolding. He had spent one night with you, and in it seen the difference.

 

Afterall, when had been the last time before that in which he had __willingly__  laid with a woman? Even when she was alive, towards the end it was out of duty or sheer force that he had… and it continued even now.

 

As he made his way solemnly through the corridors and walkways he felt his ever present companion following. Rage was contained deep within her, but she remained thankfully silent.

 

He finally looked at her when he reached his chambers, and his hand was on the door. He knew her silence would end once they were alone, and all he had done in the past few days, happy and sorrowful would be challenged, and brought up - scrutinized.

 

More to it, her weakness was now found, her enemy had a face. But that foe was not there to hold her at bay from him.

 

He entered, she followed slick as shadow itself only could. He went immediately to the wine table and drew himself up ready for the battle he knew would ensue.

 

“You have already given her my crown. Have you not?” she questioned coming out of the shadowy domain, and revealing her unearthly countenance. She was solid and pale, deathlike in her skin - the vivid eyes she had before now pale blue blocks of ice. She was still beautiful, but her personality twisted and consumed by her vanity. Hate and the dying embers of the memory of their once upon time love fueled her. “It was how you found her…. knew she was threatened.”

 

He stared hard and long at her. She had disappeared for a while after you left. It made him suspicious.

 

“The connection told me where she was, but it was your lengthy absence from this palace that made me feel sure she was threatened. But in answer to your question, __dearest__ …” he emphasized the word with mockery, “Not completely, but yes, the process has begun whether by my will or the powers themselves.”

 

He drained the cup he had poured, and set it down, then went to the corner to begin disrobing. He turned about to look at her before he sat down.

 

“I warn you, do not touch her again, or I will find a way to end you.”

 

She let out a good hearty laugh at that, and watched him lay down on the bed, stretching out.

 

“Is not that your plan anyway?” She came to the bed, and climbed on top of him straddling his hips, and began rubbing against his clothed groin.

 

“Not this again…Leave me be creature!” he shouted.

 

She leaned down close to his face and snarled, “I am still your wife… Until she takes my place, there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

 

“Get off of me.” he hissed in her face. She snickered, and ran a hand down his chest, and to his trousers clasp and unhooked them.

 

“What are you going to do? Beat me? You never did that even when you should have before. Why start now?” She brought her cold lips to his chin and nipped. “Or can you only pleasure your little whore now? Until I am gone, that is all she will ever be.”

 

She slipped her hand inside his trousers at that and began to rub him. Cold as her hands were his body betrayed him, as it always did, and responded to the attentions. He cursed. So this was her retribution?

 

“You will never be able to stop me…” she whispered in his ear before kissing her way down his chest, pulling the fabric aside at his loins and let his member come free. With a victorious grin she took him in her mouth, and roughly began sucking, licking and bobbing up and down.

 

He closed his eyes as he always did. Just as he did when she was not this thing she was now and waited for her to finish everything she was planning to do to violate him and reclaim her property.

 

“I hate you…” he whispered while digging his hands in the sheets waiting for it to end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the going to the last chapter I post for a while. I am still working on this story, but again, typing it up is a big process. (I'm not giving up on it just still writing it.)
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> This story will also appear on Wattpad soon for those interested.


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